Nursing students receive FEMA training

Bachelor of science in nursing students in the Augusta University College of Nursing recently received training for mass casualty response, including chemical, biological and blast injuries, at the The Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama.

Instructors utilize real world situations in training so these future nurses can be better prepared for conditions they may one day encounter.

The CDP provides advanced training to tens of thousands of emergency responders each year. Training includes preparedness, protection and response. The CDP opened in 1998 and since then has trained more than 1.1 million responders. CDP is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Preparedness Directorate and offers training in chemical, ordnance, biological, and radiological incidents. Examples include events such as a chlorine gas spill, the current COVID-19 pandemic and the Boston Marathon bombing.

The two-day training at CDP is specifically designed for nursing students to increase awareness and knowledge, practice skill sets and gain confidence to effectively respond to local mass casualty incidents. The training fulfills the MASCAL (mass casualty) response training portion of the BSN curriculum.

Earlier in the semester, Professor Tracey Puig-Baker and Dr. Caroline McKinnon took the first group of BSN students. The most recent group attended with Dr. Carol Hunter and Dr. Christine Nguyen.

Every BSN student is encouraged to participate in the training; however, if a student is unable to attend, then he/she may meet the MASCAL requirements by participating in on-campus simulation exercises.