International Journal of Nursing and Health Science 2016; 3(6): 48-52 http://www.openscienceonline.com/journal/ijnhs ISSN: 2381-4861 (Print); ISSN: 2381-4888 (Online) Assessment of Knowledge, Skills and Preparedness of Nurses on Management of Mass Casualty in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital Nelson Lola 1 , Amina Abdulraheem 1 , Inuwa Ahmadu 1 , Robert T. Kever 1, * , Gagare A. A. 2 , Fatsuma M. Abore 3 1 Department of Nursing Science, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria 2 College of Nursing, Jalingo, Nigeria 3 Maternal and Child Health Welfare Clinic, Biu, Nigeria Email address robertkever72@gmail.com (R. T. Kever) *Corresponding author To cite this article Nelson Lola, Amina Abdulraheem, Inuwa Ahmadu, Robert T. Kever, Gagare A. A., Fatsuma M. Abore. Assessment of Knowledge, Skills and Preparedness of Nurses on Management of Mass Casualty in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. International Journal of Nursing and Health Science. Vol. 3, No. 6, 2016, pp. 48-52. Received: March 4, 2016; Accepted: March 14, 2016; Published: October 28, 2016 Abstract This study aimed at assessing the knowledge, skills and preparedness of nurses on management of mass casualty in University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Borno State, Nigeria. It was a descriptive survey study of 200 nurses selected by stratified random sampling technique from various wards/units of the hospital. Self-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the nurses on the key aspects of the management of mass casualty. The instrument was pre-tested in Borno State Specialist Hospital and test retest correlation coefficient was 0.72. Permission was obtained from the ethical committee of the hospital, and unit Heads of the wards. The result revealed that, nurses in the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital have low knowledge but adequate skills, and was perceived to be psychologically ready for the management of critical mass casualty despite low knowledge. Development of a protocol and continuous education programmes for all working nurses was recommended to improve the level of preparedness in care of mass casualty. Keywords Assessment, Knowledge, Skills, Preparedness, Mass Casualty 1. Introduction Disaster is a catastrophic event that often leads to great destruction, loss of lives, and properties. Whether the origin is natural or attributed to human causes, the outcomes can be devastating. Logue (2001) cited by Goodhue et al [1], defined disaster as an event that causes excessive morbidity and mortality in human lives. When an accident or disaster occurs involving large numbers of people, nurses are called upon to intervene, despite these many lives may be lost in critical mass casualty situations because resources may not be mobilized efficiently. The challenge is, the more scarce the resources (material and human), the less efficient the organization and the ability of the victims to survive [2] [3]. It is paramount to state that, large scale disasters and local emergencies that disturb the normal delivery of health care to the community, temporary over strain the resources. In such situations nurses and other health care providers are expected to utilize their unique skills, abilities and understanding of the community environment to the betterment of the population by striving to deliver highest attainable level of care that the adverse circumstances allow [4] [5]. When the quantity and severity of injuries overwhelms the