Date of Award

Summer 2026

Document Type

Project – Full Written

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Committee Chair

Tracy Arnold

Abstract

The increasing amount of mass casualty incidents (MCIs), such as natural disasters, large-scale emergencies, and active shooter events, has emphasized the need for healthcare professionals to respond effectively. Traditional undergraduate nursing curriculum often offers limited opportunities for students to practice disaster preparedness through simulated experiences. This DNP project was created to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing an MCI training simulation to increase the confidence and competence of senior pre-licensure nursing students when responding to a mass casualty event. The project implemented a 1-day, simulation-based MCI event for senior nursing students enrolled in an Adult Health II course. The event included a virtual pre- briefing, hands-on multi-vehicle disaster scenario including simulated patients, and a structured debriefing led by faculty. Student perceptions of confidence, competence, and preparedness were measured by an anonymous, electronic pre- and post-survey that included 11 Likert-scale items. Findings noted improvements from all measured fields after participation in the simulated training. The greatest improvement was noted in students' perceived preparedness to respond to a mass-casualty disaster, with a mean increase of +0.66. Qualitative results revealed students' value in a realistic environment, communication, teamwork, triage prioritization, and hands-on experience in a high-stress situation. Findings support integration of simulation-based MCI training into undergraduate nursing curriculum, has proved to be an effective bridge between didactic instruction and clinical application.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

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