Newswise — Two new graduate options now offered by the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHU SON) will prepare nurses for pivotal leadership roles during disasters and mass casualty incidents. The Health Systems Management: Emergency Preparedness/Disaster Response options—a clinical nurse specialist track in the Master's of Science in Nursing program and a Post-Master's certificate option—are designed for nurses seeking strategic skills in planning, managing and responding to large scale emergencies or disasters.
JHU SON Associate Professor Marguerite Littleton-Kearney, DNSc, RN, FAAN, a Captain in the Navy Nurse Corps (Reserve Component), designed the program in response to her concerns following the 9/11 disasters and her military experiences. In the event of mass casualty incidents, bioterrorism and natural disasters, Dr. Littleton-Kearney notes, "nurses are uniquely positioned to assume leadership roles in the education of first responders, and to coordinate hospital triage planning, disaster drill design and implementation, and patient management."
The new curriculum will provide graduates with the tools to embark on a career path to assume leadership roles for emergency preparedness in hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory centers, military, government agencies, and other settings throughout the health care system. (http://www.son.jhmi.edu/academic_programs/masters/hlthsys/epdr.asp) Dr. Littleton-Kearney adds, "After 9/11, all of us in the nursing profession became aware that we must be more prepared to lead and deliver a comprehensive, interdisciplinary response. At Hopkins we continue to prepare leaders for nursing's future."
For more information about these and other JHU SON programs, visit http://www.son.jhmi.edu/academic_programs/academic.asp or contact the JHU SON Admissions Office at 410-955-7548.
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