Call for national dialogue: Adapting standards of care in extreme events. We are not ready.

Clinical practices are based on a common understanding of nursing's professional standards in all aspects of patient care, no matter what the circumstances are. Circumstances can however, change dramatically due to emergencies, disasters, or pandemics and may make it difficult to meet the standard of care in the way nurses are accustomed. The Australian nursing profession has not yet facilitated a broad discussion and debate at the professional and institutional level about adapting standards of care under extreme conditions, a dialogue which goes beyond the content of basic emergency and disaster preparedness. The purpose of this paper is to encourage discussion within the nursing profession on this important ethical and legal issue. A comprehensive review of the literature was undertaken to determine the state of the evidence in relation to adapting standards of care under extreme conditions. Content analysis of the literature identified categories related to adapting standards of care that have been considered by individuals or groups that should be considered in Australia, should a dialogue be undertaken. The categories include ethical expectations of professional practice; legal interpretation of care requirements, resource priority between hospital and public health and informing communities. Literature reviews and commentary may provide the background for a national dialogue on the nursing response in an extreme event. However, it is only with the engagement of a broadly representative segment of the professional nursing community that appropriate guidance on adapting standards of care under extreme conditions can be developed and then integrated into the professional worldview of nursing in Australia.