title: School nurses as volunteers in a bioterrorism event.
abstract: Most public health departments do not have enough public health nurses to adequately respond to a bioterrorist attack or other large-scale health emergency and would need to look to volunteers to help with staffing needs in an emergency. The National Association of School Nurses supports the use of school nurses, a skilled workforce, as responders in a mass casualty event, whether it is naturally occurring or as a result of bioterrorism. This article explores the use of school nurses to supplement public health staff during an emergency. A Likert-scale survey was used to assess the preparedness and willingness of school nurses to respond to a health threat. Although school nurses are willing to respond, the findings highlight the importance of continued education on risk and personal protection.
authors.affiliation: Denton County Health Department, Denton, Texas 76209, USA. jessica.gullion@dentoncounty.com
authors.forename: Jessica Smartt
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Gullion
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011637:Public Health Nursing; D012573:School Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013781:Texas; D014838:Volunteers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000078329:Workforce