The Role of Emergency Nurses in Contemporary Health Crisis Management in the BANI World

Abstract

The BANI framework (Brittle-Anxious-Nonlinear-Incomprehensible) has been proposed to describe the characteristics of the contemporary world, which is increasingly fragile, uncertain, complex, and difficult to predict. In recent years, healthcare systems worldwide have faced growing uncertainty due to emerging infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and environmental challenges that significantly affect population health. Within this context, emergency departments play a critical role in responding to health crises. Emergency nurses, as frontline healthcare professionals responsible for triage, rapid assessment, and the provision of timely and effective emergency care, are essential in managing urgent and critical health situations.

This article aims to analyze the roles and essential competencies of emergency nurses in managing contemporary health crises within the context of the BANI era and to propose approaches for strengthening emergency nursing capacity to address evolving healthcare challenges. An analytical literature review was conducted using academic sources published between 2019 and 2024. The analysis was guided by the conceptual perspectives of systemic management, situational leadership, and innovative nursing. The findings indicate that four key competencies are essential for emergency nurses in responding to health crises in the BANI context: (1) critical clinical decision-making, (2) risk and disaster management, (3) health technology utilization, and (4) interprofessional collaboration. These competencies play an important role in enhancing crisis response capacity and strengthening health system resilience in increasingly complex and unpredictable healthcare environments.