Survey shows benefits of active shooter training, simulations

An Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) survey has determined active shooter training and simulations are essential to ensuring staff is equipped to respond effectively during an act of violence.

Findings published online in the Journal of Emergency Nursing showed out of 202 emergency nurses and ancillary staff members who participated in active shooter training, 92 percent felt better prepared to respond if a shooting occurred at their facility while 70 percent of participants reported an increase in knowledge and readiness.

“We are in the infancy stage of this conversation,” Mary Baker, the study’s co-author and Emergency Nurses Association member, said with regard to active shooter training in hospitals. “As emergency nurses, we practice our Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) a lot. We’ve gotten very proficient at it because it’s always top of mind. But when it comes to preparing for a catastrophe such as an active shooter in our own emergency department, most nurses have no idea how we’d react because we aren’t preparing for it.”

Officials said because of the complexity and potential devastation of such types of incidents, it is critical emergency nurses to be prepared.

ENA personnel said they want members to be apprised of the importance of regularly engaging in active shooter training and mass casualty preparedness.