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Observations and Actions of Nurse Executives During No-Notice Disaster Events in the Hospital Setting
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Observations and Actions of Nurse Executives During No-Notice Disaster Events in the Hospital Setting

Anne Griffin, Sallie Shipman, Joanne Langan and Aram Dobalian
Online journal of issues in nursing, Vol.30(2)
05/31/2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol30No02PPT31

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Abstract

Hospital-based nurses are on the frontline of no-notice disaster events. They are supervised by a nurse executive (NE) who is responsible for the constant delivery of safe and competent nursing care, including during times of disaster. As a member of the hospital administrative team and Hospital Incident Command System, the NE is well positioned to maximize nurses’ safety and readiness. Specific actions by NEs during no-notice events are largely absent from the scientific literature. This non-experimental, descriptive, qualitative study aimed to describe the observations and actions of NEs (n = 6) who experienced at least one no notice disaster event. Domains from The International Council of Nurses Core Competencies in Disaster Nursing served as a framework for analysis. A collaborative thematic analysis then considered the real-life experience of NEs who supervised nurses’ response to a major no-notice disaster. NEs were amongst the first administrators to respond onsite. Communication was often most effective using personal cell phones. Nurses needed to make immediate life-saving decisions despite the absence of a formalized incident command structure. Many suffered from traumatic exposure and NEs facilitated immediate and long-term mental health support. This article describes our study methods and the seven themes that emerged from our analysis, along with implications for research and practice.

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