Hi. I am delighted to be contributing to this course on nursing leadership. I have had the privilege, over the past 17 years, of serving as Vice president and Chief Nursing Officer in two different community hospitals.

I will be providing background and thoughts on a topic that is typically not covered well in your undergraduate programs but you may have already experienced in your work or even your personal lives.  Nurses are often called upon and indeed, relied upon, to manage risks to patient care on a daily basis and to contribute to the foundations of emergency and disaster responses. Therefore, it will benefit you to reflect and think proactively about how you prepare to address risks and emergencies, and even disasters.

This topic is particularly important to me given the experience of the past 16 months in dealing with a widespread public health emergency. While the academic reviews and books have yet to be written, the topic is important to examine in the context of learning. In your future roles as leaders, your response to an emergency event will challenge you professionally and personally but may also be a very rewarding experience, particularly if you feel prepared.