Identify prevention and epidemiological and disaster response.

Identification should include

• recognition of unusual events that may indicate a bioterrorism emergency
• recognition of a nurse’s role during a pandemic or endemic
• description of common biological and chemical agents
• transmission of biological and chemical agents
• signs and symptoms of exposure
• precautions to take during and after an attack
• role of local, state, and federal public health and law enforcement agencies
• emergency preparedness plans of local healthcare facilities
• a nurse's role in an emergency response.

Process/Skill Questions:

• What unusual events may indicate a bioterrorism emergency?
• How can biological agents (e.g., anthrax, botulism, plague, ricin, smallpox, viral hemorrhagic fevers) be described and transmitted?
• How can chemical agents (e.g., sulfur mustard, cyanide, sarin, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate [BZ]) be described and transmitted?
• How can signs and symptoms of exposure to biological and chemical agents be recognized?
• What precautions should be taken during and after a bioterrorism attack?
• What is the role of public health and law enforcement in a bioterrorism emergency?
• How can communicable diseases affect the nurse’s role?
• What is the role of the nurse in emergency preparedness for pandemic, endemic, and local outbreaks of communicable diseases?