I'm a nurse educator, should I be expected to conduct fire drills?

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

In my experience, I've seen fire safety education during orientation (usually a video) and sometimes as part of annual skills fairs, with drills conducted by non-nursing, such as Plant Ops.

Educating and conducting drills are two different things. Education addresses fire safety education using the RACE acronym (Rescue, Activate the alarm, Close doors, Extinguish the fire). Drills evaluate the effectiveness of fire safety education.

It may be unusual, but with preparation, there is no reason why you couldn't lead or coordinate fire drills. As an educator, you could even choose to embrace fire safety education for your facility and make it meaningful.

However, you need to be adequately prepared and confident in conducting drills. You need to know where the fire doors are, where all the fire alarms are, how to use the extinguishers and other information you probably haven't been given.

The facility manager minimized your concerns and disregarded the hospital's liability by saying you were overthinking it. This isn't about your patient care expertise; it's about patient safety, staff safety, and meeting Joint Commission requirements and the hospital's written fire response plan.

Emergency Fire Response Plan

Joint Commission requires regular fire drills. Every accredited facility should have a written fire response plan. Writing the plan is not your responsibility. Ask your supervisor for a copy of your facility's written fire response plan.

The response plan includes:

• when and how to sound and report fire alarms
• how to contain smoke and fire
• how to use a fire extinguisher 
• a general plan to move patients and staff to safety
• specific information directly related to the facility structure, staff roles, and more. 

Staff should be trained in these areas and have their knowledge tested with regular fire drills.

Collaborate with the facilities manager or the engineering team to ensure you comprehensively understand the facility's fire safety features and procedures. 

Here are some additional suggestions:

• Clarify expectations. Meet with your manager with specific questions. What exactly is required? A mock drill using a red flag? A return demo on using a fire extinguisher? Day and night shift? How many and what percent of staff must be captured? Without clear expectations, you can't succeed.
• Are you expected to determine competency for each participating employee, or are you just expected to complete a generic checklist to evaluate the effectiveness of safety protocols, such as unobstructed hallways? Either way, is there a form? How are the drills tracked?
• Resources-ask who conducted the drills before your tenure and where the educational material/sign-in sheets/tracking forms are. Request additional fire safety and evacuation procedure training from your hospital's safety/risk or emergency management department.
• Seek out educational resources provided by your local fire department. They would be accommodating and knowledgeable.
• Connect with other nurse educators or colleagues with experience in leading fire drills. Do you belong to a corporation with multiple sites and educators? They can provide valuable insights and tips.
• Collaborate with facilities management. Maybe you could develop/provide education, and facilities management could conduct drills. 
• Practice and reheorifice the drill with the support of the facilities or engineering team to build your confidence.
• Conduct mock drills in a controlled setting before the actual annual fire drill.

Remember that safety drills are a collaborative effort. While nurse educators play a crucial role in patient care aspects, collaboration with other departments ensures a well-rounded and effective emergency response.

Don't hesitate to seek support and guidance to fulfill this responsibility confidently.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth