Implementing a multidisciplinary disaster simulation for undergraduate nursing students.

A liberal-arts-based undergraduate nursing program engaged in curriculum enhancement activities that led to the implementation of a disaster simulation for 81 multidisciplinary undergraduate students. A pretest/posttest design was used to determine the effectiveness of preparation for the simulation. Nursing students in three levels of the program received didactic preparation in disaster preparedness and were assigned to five different simulation response teams.

Tracheal suctioning: an exploration of nurses' knowledge and competence in acute and high dependency ward areas.

Background And Rationale: With an increasing demand for intensive care beds more nurses in acute and high dependency wards will be expected to care competently for patients with tracheostomy tubes. Tracheal suctioning is an essential aspect of effective airway management. However, this has many associated risks and complications, ranging from trauma and hypoxaemia to, in extreme cases, cardiac arrest and death.