Disaster Management in Nursing: A Car Accident Scenario (Essay Sample)

Disaster Management in Nursing; A Car Accident Scenario
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Disaster Management in Nursing; A Car Accident Scenario
Disasters are a part of life and can occur at any time. It is, therefore, imperative to know how to operate in the event of a disaster. Of the health care professionals, nurses usually have the most tedious responsibility during a crisis since it is their job to alleviate the pain and suffering of the victims. It is, therefore, not surprising that many nurses would not respond to health emergencies (Stangeland, 2010). Stangeland (2010) further says that the disinterest depicted by nurses during a medical emergency arises from an atmosphere of turmoil and uncertainty and that nurses perceive that their leadership has or will abandon them.
That said, disaster management encompasses four stages; prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery (Mouhamed, Mohamed, and Ismail, 2019). Nurses are among the first health care providers to respond to emergencies and have the necessary skills needed to control the situation. However, studies have shown that nurses are usually ill-prepared for disasters. Hammad et al. (as cited in Alshehri, 2017) discovered that “nurses were confused about their role in disaster planning.” The study attributed this confusion and a lack of preparedness to inadequate knowledge about disasters.
In the scenario in which a car veered into a crowded shopping center resulting in a massive incident, as a practicing nurse, I would respond to the disaster by first mentally preparing myself. A road accident is usually bloody, with feelings of fear, confusion, and pain being paramount. Giarratano, Orlando, and Savage (as cited in Grochtdreis, de Jong, Harenberg, Görres, and Schröder-Bäck, 2016) deduced that nurses usually live through a disaster regardless of how unpredictable the situation is. Additionally, Grochtdreis et al. (2016) reported that nurses have expectations from both the public and the hospital in which they work that they must meet. On the one hand, the public assumes that nurses are always ready for any medical emergency. On the other, the hospital expects nurses to be able to handle whatever emergency comes their way at all times. Besides, during emergencies, the routine of a hospital is foregone, which implies that the staff has to operate using a schedule that is not customary. All these confusion, expectations, and changes become stressful to a nurse. Thus, I would psychologically ready myself for the influx of injured people so that my head and body can handle the pressure.
Also, as stated above, such an accident is bloody. I will therefore don protective gear such as a mask fluid-impervious gown, face and eye protection, and gloves. These attires would protect both the victims and myself from any form of contamination, hence preventing the risk of more medical complications. I would then ensure that all the tools needed to receive the injured are ready. Because of the expected flux of patients, I would liaise with fellow nurses and other health care providers to erect makeshift compartments and ensure that the equipment we would need is present in each ward. Finally, before the arrival of the patients, I would communicate with the intensive care and the surgical departments and ensure that they are ready for the flow of patients to reduce congestion.
In caring for the injured, first, I would categorize them depending on the intensity of their injuries and then manage the glaring threats. I would examine the airway of the victims to ensure that there is no blockage by first checking for any abrasion to the spine. Moreover, I would open a patient’s airway using a jaw-thrust maneuver and stabilize their neck. I would look for signs of bleeding, vomiting, food particles, and other debris that could block the airway. If any is present, I would immediately suction the airway to prevent aspiration. Next, I would assess their breathing by checking their breathing rate, chest expansion, depth of breathing, etc. Also, I would palpate for crepitus to determine whether they suffered any injuries to the airway. I would then check their circulation by examining the availability and quality of peripheral pulses to estimate their blood pressure. I would monitor for any signs of shock, for instance, skin color, level of consciousness, and body temperature.
Additionally, I would check for signs of cuts. I would clean the wounds of the patients and bandage them to avoid any further blood loss that may result in complications such as hypothermia. Plus, I would work closely with the blood transfusion department to determine the blood groups of the victims and, if need be, give them a blood transfusion.
One of the primary roles of nurses is to alleviate the pain of a patient. Therefore, as soon as I determine that the patients are out of danger, I would administer pain medication as per the prescription of the attending doctors. I would also liaise with the social work department to contact