September is Emergency Preparedness Month, a time to review safety plans and train for natural disasters and emergency scenarios. NPD in Motion staff spoke with nursing professional development practitioners (NPDs) from different regions to hear how their teams contribute to organizational emergency preparedness.

How does your healthcare system approach disaster preparedness, and what role do you and your NPD team play in those efforts?

Marissa Guarnere, MSN, RN, CEN, PCCN, NPD-BC, clinical nurse educator, adult and pediatric emergency departments, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus; Mid-Atlantic Region (MG): At Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, disaster preparedness is viewed as an ongoing commitment rather than a single event or annual competency. As a Level I Trauma Center and regional referral center, we prepare for a wide range of emergencies. Our preparedness strategy is built on strong interdisciplinary collaboration among NPD, emergency management, infection prevention, security, emergency medical services (EMS), physicians, respiratory therapy, operational leaders, and frontline clinical teams.

As an emergency department clinical nurse educator, my role is to help translate emergency preparedness plans into practical, competency-based education that equips nurses to respond confidently in high-risk situations. Our NPD team integrates disaster preparedness throughout the employee’s professional journey, beginning with orientation and extending through ongoing competency validation, simulation, drills, and just-in-time education. Rather than focusing solely on policy review, we emphasize experiential learning that allows staff to practice critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and technical skills in realistic scenarios.

Our educational initiatives include preparedness for high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs), including our role as a designated Ebola receiving center, chemical decontamination, mass casualty response, trauma readiness, pediatric emergencies, and specialized emergency department workflows such as communications room operations and ventricular assist device (VAD) emergencies. These programs are designed not only to strengthen individual competency but also to improve interdisciplinary coordination during complex events.

Following drills and real-world events, our NPD team partners with operational leaders to conduct structured debriefings and after-action reviews. Lessons learned are incorporated into future education, competency validation, and process improvements, creating a continuous cycle of learning and organizational readiness. By embedding preparedness into everyday education, we help foster a culture where emergency response is not viewed as an isolated event, but as a core professional responsibility supported by continuous learning, collaboration, and practice.

Amber Hunley, DNP, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, senior director of nursing excellence and inquiry at Texas Children’s Hospital; South/Texas Region (AH): Disaster preparedness within our healthcare system is a collaborative effort that integrates emergency management, operational leaders, clinical experts, and frontline team members to ensure we can continue providing safe, high-quality care during unexpected events. Given the risks our region faces, including hurricanes, flooding, severe weather, and potential technology disruptions, preparedness is embedded into our planning, training, and operational readiness efforts.

For our NPD team, disaster preparedness goes beyond education delivery. It is about engaging staff in the planning process, identifying gaps before an event occurs, and creating practical learning experiences that build resilience and readiness across the organization. By ensuring education is informed by the experiences and needs of frontline teams, we help strengthen both individual preparedness and organizational response capabilities.

What types of natural disasters pose the greatest risk to the communities your organization serves, and how have those risks influenced your education and preparedness strategies?

MG: While our region remains vulnerable to severe weather events such as winter storms and flooding, our organization’s preparedness efforts have expanded to an all-hazards approach that includes cyber disruptions. As healthcare systems become more dependent on technology, cyberattacks have emerged as one of the most significant operational threats to patient care. Unlike many other industries, healthcare, especially the emergency department, cannot simply stop operations — we must continue safely caring for 300–400 patients each day, even when electronic systems are unavailable.

This reality has significantly influenced our education and preparedness strategies. Our NPD team works closely with interdisciplinary partners to prepare staff for technology downtime by incorporating downtime workflows into orientation, simulation, and ongoing competency education. Team members practice paper documentation, managing patient flow, communicating without the electronic health record, and adapting workflows while maintaining patient safety and throughput during prolonged technology outages.

These exercises reinforce that disaster preparedness extends beyond responding to physical disasters; it also means preparing teams to deliver safe, efficient care when critical infrastructure is disrupted. By creating realistic scenarios and emphasizing adaptability, communication, and critical thinking, we help build confidence so staff are prepared to continue providing high-quality  care regardless of the circumstances.

AH: The communities we serve are most vulnerable to hurricanes, flooding, severe weather events, and infrastructure disruptions that can result in operational downtime and interruptions to communication, technology, transportation, and resource availability. As a pediatric and women’s healthcare organization, these risks are especially significant because many of our patients have complex medical needs and depend on uninterrupted access to specialized care.

These risks have shaped our preparedness strategies by emphasizing both clinical readiness and operational resilience. While disaster response plans are essential, we recognize that staff must also be prepared to deliver safe, effective care when normal processes and systems are disrupted. As a result, our education efforts focus on helping staff understand not only what to do during an emergency, but also how to adapt when electronic systems, communication platforms, or other critical infrastructure are unavailable.

Our preparedness approach includes emergency response education, downtime training, competency validation, simulation-based learning, and ongoing reinforcement of key workflows and processes. We also prioritize interdisciplinary collaboration so that nurses, physicians, ancillary staff, and operational leaders understand their roles and can work effectively together during high-stress situations. By incorporating disaster preparedness principles into orientation, annual competencies, and continuing education, we help ensure readiness remains a continuous process rather than a one-time event.

Ultimately, our goal is to build a resilient workforce that can confidently adapt to evolving circumstances while maintaining safe, high-quality care for patients and families. Preparation is not just about responding to a specific disaster; it is about developing the knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and teamwork necessary to navigate any unexpected challenge.

Can you share an example of a disaster event, drill, or preparedness initiative where your NPD team had a significant impact on staff readiness or response?

MG: One of the most impactful preparedness initiatives our NPD team supports is emergency readiness for HCIDs, including our role as a designated Ebola receiving center, chemical decontamination, and mass casualty events. Although these situations are rare, they require a high level of preparedness and coordinated teamwork.

Our team begins by identifying knowledge and practice gaps through competency assessments, simulation debriefings, and staff feedback. We then develop competency-based education that moves beyond annual training by incorporating hands-on skills validation, interdisciplinary simulation, tabletop exercises, and just-in-time education. These experiences allow staff to practice critical skills such as PPE use, decontamination procedures, communication, and role responsibilities in a realistic, low-risk environment.

Following each drill, we conduct structured debriefings to evaluate outcomes, identify opportunities for improvement, and refine future education. This continuous feedback process has strengthened both staff confidence and organizational readiness. By focusing on experiential learning and continuous competency development, our NPD team helps ensure that when a high-risk event occurs, our teams are prepared to respond safely, effectively, and with confidence.

AH: One recent example was a series of multidisciplinary focus groups our NPD team facilitated to better understand organizational readiness for downtime and disaster situations. Rather than waiting to identify gaps during an actual event, we brought together frontline staff, educators, leaders, and subject matter experts to discuss challenges, lessons learned from prior events, and opportunities to strengthen preparedness.

These conversations helped us identify key educational priorities, including downtime workflows, communication processes, role clarity, and just-in-time resources needed during disaster events. The insights are being used to inform future educational initiatives, competency validation strategies, simulation activities, and ongoing preparedness training across the organization.

What made this initiative particularly impactful was that it placed the voices of frontline team members at the center of the planning process. By engaging those who would be responsible for responding during a disaster or downtime event, we were able to develop more practical, relevant, and sustainable educational strategies. This approach reinforced that disaster preparedness is not just about having a plan on paper; it is about ensuring staff have the knowledge, confidence, and resources needed to respond effectively when unexpected situations arise.

What challenges have you encountered when educating and supporting nurses for disaster response, and how have you worked to address them?

MG: One of our greatest challenges is maintaining disaster preparedness across a large and dynamic emergency department workforce. Our nursing care team includes more than 300 team members with varying levels of experience. Combined with competing clinical priorities, staff turnover, and the infrequent nature of many high-risk events, it can be difficult to ensure that every team member feels confident responding to situations they may rarely encounter.

To address this, our NPD team has shifted away from viewing preparedness as an annual competency and instead incorporates it into everyday learning. Disaster preparedness concepts are introduced during orientation and reinforced throughout the year using simulation, case-based learning, interdisciplinary drills, competency validation, and just-in-time education. Breaking complex topics into smaller, focused learning opportunities allows staff to build confidence over time rather than relying on a single educational event.

Another important strategy has been emphasizing experiential learning. Hands-on simulation and realistic scenarios help translate policies into practice, allowing team members to apply clinical knowledge, clarify roles, and strengthen communication in a psychologically safe environment. Following drills, structured debriefings provide valuable opportunities to identify learning needs and continuously improve both educational programming and operational processes.

For our NPD team, disaster preparedness is not simply about ensuring staff know the policy — it’s about creating a culture of readiness. By embedding preparedness into ongoing professional development, we can better support a large workforce while helping every team member feel prepared to respond confidently when the unexpected occurs.

Looking ahead, what improvements or priorities is your healthcare system focusing on to strengthen disaster preparedness, and where do you see the NPD role evolving?

MG: Looking ahead, I believe disaster preparedness will require healthcare systems to become increasingly adaptable — not only in how we respond to emergencies, but also in how we prepare our workforce. As threats continue to evolve, our educational strategies must evolve alongside them.

I see the role of NPD practitioners expanding beyond traditional education to designing learning experiences that meet the diverse needs of today’s healthcare workforce. A single educational approach is not enough. Some learners build confidence through hands-on simulation, while others benefit from case-based discussions, tabletop exercises, microlearning, visual job aids, or just-in-time resources that reinforce critical concepts at the point of care. By incorporating a variety of learning modalities, we can create more engaging, accessible, and sustainable preparedness education for a multigenerational and multidisciplinary workforce.

I also believe the future of preparedness lies in integrating these learning opportunities throughout the employee journey rather than relying on annual competencies alone. Disaster readiness should be reinforced during onboarding, competency validation, interdisciplinary drills, routine education, and post-event debriefing. As NPD practitioners, we can create flexible, learner-centered education that not only builds clinical competency but strengthens critical thinking, adaptability, and confidence, ensuring healthcare teams are prepared to respond effectively no matter what challenges arise.