School Nursing Emergency Response Study: A National Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Cross-sectional Survey

Abstract Objective This convergent parallel mixed-methods cross-sectional national survey informs us of current disaster trainings and perceived preparedness of school nurses and their anticipated roles. Background Disasters are increasing while training to handle the emergency care is not prioritized. School nurse education is outdated, consisting of one quality program focusing on triage in disasters. Methods A convergent parallel mixed-methods survey, with closed- and open-ended questions, was distributed online to elementary, middle school, and high school nurses. Results Quantitative results identified cardiopulmonary resuscitation, active shooter, and fire training as the most prevalent training with floods and earthquakes lacking training. Thematic analysis provided views on past disaster experience, previous nursing experience, first aid and triage, desire to be included on safety committees, need for mandatory scheduled disaster training, and benefits of debriefing. Conclusions School nurse disaster management is essential to protect our children. School administrators need to appreciate this multi-faceted resource and provide up-to-date comprehensive mandatory training.