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Infection Control
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Bioterrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction for Healthcare Providers

Prepares nurses to recognize, protect against, report, and support the emergency management of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incidents.

Emergency nurses in protective equipment coordinate triage and decontamination outside a hospital while another clinician assesses a patient from a safe clean zone.
Contact hours
4
Format
Self-paced, online
Last reviewed
Sep 19, 2026

$20.00or included with All-Access

$5 per contact hour · 4 contact hours

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  • No post-test required · unlimited retakes · evaluation and attestation always required

Course Purpose

Prepares nurses to recognize, protect against, report, and support the emergency management of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incidents.

Continuing Education Credit Designation

This educational activity is credited for 4 contact hours at completion of the activity.

Overview

After completing this course, the nurse will be able to recognize clinical patterns suggesting a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive incident and initiate safe, syndrome-based care without waiting for definitive agent identification. The nurse will also be able to protect staff and patients, activate the incident command and public health systems, apply contamination-control principles, and use current federal guidance during a mass-casualty response.

Objectives

Upon completion of this independent study, the learner will be able to:

  1. Differentiate chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive hazards by onset, exposure pattern, clinical findings, and contamination risk.
  2. Recognize clinical and epidemiologic indicators that warrant immediate escalation for a suspected intentional release.
  3. Initiate protective actions, decontamination, isolation, supportive care, and agent-directed treatment within the nurse’s role and organizational protocol.
  4. Classify selected biologic threats using current federal priority concepts while avoiding reliance on category labels alone for clinical decisions.
  5. Activate incident command, occupational safety, public health reporting, laboratory, and emergency communication pathways.
  6. Apply mass-casualty triage, documentation, family reunification, and psychological-support principles during a CBRNE incident.

Policy Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the policies of FastCEForLess.com. This course should be used for informational purposes only and should not be used to diagnose, treat, prescribe, recommend, or initiate therapies or treatments in any setting. This course is copyrighted by Fast CE For Less, Inc. and may not be replicated, copied, or dispersed without written consent.

Disclosures

Fast CE For Less, Inc. and its authors have no disclosures. There is no commercial support.

Who this course is for:

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical or vocational nurses, and other healthcare providers in any setting who want continuing education on Bioterrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction for Healthcare Providers.

Course outline

11 sections · finish in any order across devices

  1. 1

    Bioterrorism and Weapon of Mass Destruction Case Study

  2. 2

    Introduction

  3. 3

    Terrorism and Mass Casualty as Defined by Government Agencies

  4. 4

    Health Alert Network

  5. 5

    Weapons of Mass Destruction

  6. 6

    Classification of Bioweapon Diseases

  7. 7

    Category A: High Risk Biologic Agents

  8. 8

    Category B: Low Risk Biologic Agents

  9. 9

    Category C: Emerging Biologic Agents

  10. 10

    Emergency Services Preparation

  11. 11

    Conclusion

References

The full reference list is included inside the course, after the Conclusion.

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