ANA Issues Policy Paper with Guidelines and Recommendations for All Health Care Professionals Who Respond to Emergencies, Disasters or Pandemics
03/14/08
As a result of the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) effort to significantly engage registered nurses and the nursing profession in the association’s policy development process, today ANA released a timely policy paper “Adapting Standards of Care Under Extreme Conditions: Guidance for Professionals During Disasters, Pandemics, and Other Extreme Emergencies.”
See below to access Press Release and download the document.
Read Press Release
- ANA Issues Policy Paper with Guidelines and Recommendations for All Health Care Professionals Who Respond to Emergencies, Disasters or Pandemics(3/14/08)[pdf]
- Adapting Standards of Care Under Extreme Conditions [pdf]
Policy makers and health professionals, including registered nurses, physicians and others, have asked a range of important questions regarding the ethics and standards that apply to decisions about care made during unusual or extreme circumstances such as those resulting from emergencies, disasters or pandemics. The decisions include changes in usual practices due to changes in resources available, or practice in unusual settings, or practice in a setting or with patient care needs unfamiliar to the clinician. Adapting Standards of Care under Extreme Conditions: Guidance for Professionals During Disasters, Pandemics, and Other Extreme Emergencies identifies more precisely the significant policy questions that need to be addressed and suggests strategies that can guide health professionals, institutions and policy makers in such challenging situations.