Over the past decade, entry-to-practice emergency preparedness competencies have been identified\nas an essential component of nursing education. In this paper the author reports upon a small\nCanadian study which explores the perspective of undergraduate learners and faculty members\nwho participated in and/or facilitated an Emergency Preparedness Simulation (EPS) module during\na primary health care praxis course. The central purpose of this study was to explore the related\nexperiences of learners and faculty who participated in or facilitated an Emergency Preparedness\nSimulation (EPS) module academic year and their perspectives on the effectiveness of the simulation\nin preparing learners to respond to emergencies in the future. The EPS module included a seminar\nfollowed by a mass-casualty simulation experience. The mass-casualty simulation experience\nincluded a ââ?¬Å?Teddy Bearââ?¬Â triage and an ââ?¬Å?Explosionââ?¬Â triage. The constructivist data analysis\nidentified four related patterns for both the learner and faculty participants: Strengths (S), Objections\n(O), Suggestions (S), and Feelings (!) [SOS!]. Three themes were identified in each pattern: relevance,\ndesign, and engagement. In comparing the learner and faculty perspectives, there is a clear\ncongruence between the strengths identified, the objections identified, and the power of feelings\nfor both learners and faculty who participate in the emergency preparedness scenarios. Learners\nand faculty had different suggestions. Learners suggested more time on developing skills, particularly\naround first aid of individual clients, and recommended all students begin with the ââ?¬Å?Teddy\nBearââ?¬Â triage. Faculty suggested a re-thinking of the ââ?¬Å?Explosionââ?¬Â triage simulation to emphasize\ncommunity based emergency preparedness and responsiveness. Such re-focusing would support\nthe integration of key primary health care principles and values including equity, social justice, and\nsocial determinants of health. Learners and faculty valued the EPS module and recommended it\ncontinue to be a learning component of the primary health care course.
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