Nursing students’ experiences during a disaster evacuation simulation: A phenomenological study

Background: Climate change disasters are increasing, occurring sporadically and without warning. Innovative initiatives are needed to support nursing students who will face disasters in practice. Aim: This article describes the experiences of nursing students after an evacuation simulation scenario at the end of their senior year. Methods: Researchers used an interpretive phenomenological approach, conducting 2 focus groups with nursing students after completing a disaster evacuation simulation. Focus groups were recorded and transcribed. An interpretive phenomenological approach guided identification and reduction of themes in the context of their educational setting. Results: Four themes emerged from these focus groups each with inherent nuance. Expertise refers to participants’ desire for expert teaching and recognition of their own expertise. Preparation refers to the participants’ need for comprehensive preparation, signaling a fear of uncertainty. Equity refers to participants’ desire for uniformity and fairness in all challenges and opportunities. Introspection refers to participants’ self-reflections. Conclusions: Participants communicated conflicting feelings about this high stress situation. With climate change-related emergencies on the rise, nursing faculty should focus on supporting students as they integrate these high acuity, low occurrence events.