Disaster Nursing

In these troubled times in which we live, there exists a constant threat of disaster. Either the disaster is man made, such as war or terrorism, or from nature, nursing has always been at the forefront. In the past, nurses were on the battlefield dressing the soldier's wounds and giving emotional retain to those whose time was at hand.

Formally, the work of nursing began with Florence Nightingale during the Crimean war. Even prior to that time there were those caring individuals who were first responders to disaster situations. Now more than ever, there is a need for nurses to become educated in the field of disaster nursing. The destruction unleashed by Hurricane Katrina tested the immediate response and mobilization of many doctors and nurses, as well as the merit of government response, to which in the final diagnosis the normal consensus was one of "we could have done better."

In spite of the many critics that abounded after the destruction, there stood those individuals who shined so brightly with their selflessness and compassion. These are nurses and doctors working around the clock in unsanitary conditions not unlike a battlefield hundreds of years ago.

One has to ask, "How is this possible in today's world, with all of the state of the art technology that abounds in rehabilitation and communications." And yet, there it was in black and white, citizen were dying from lack of curative supplies and unsanitary conditions. The brave and caring souls who stood by and could perhaps only hold a hand, give a comforting touch, and say some kind word to man who was taking their few last breaths were the ones that made the difference. Here was a case of disaster nursing like no other. These are men and women who stayed behind to care for the sick and dying, not knowing when or if any supplies would arrive.

In classes that are now taught currently in nursing schools on disaster nursing, the pervading theme for every new nurse to remember is to treat the walking wounded first. One would not think that this should be the case when man is dying from blood loss or is badly wounded. Shouldn't those who are so badly wounded be treated first? The experienced nursing trainer will nod her head and ask the student, "O.K., what happens when you exhaust all of your blood supplies on a sick person that perhaps won't last a few hours? What will you do when a sick person who needs only minor care and does not get it due to your time expended on man who is dying, goes into complications that could have been prevented? Now what kind of situation do you have?" The learner nurse will not know what to reply. However the nursing trainer will reply the following, "Treat your walking wounded first. They will be your help."

This statement may seem harsh at best. It is However the rule of the disaster scenario. There will be those that you cannot help, and that is a fact. Therefore, you must treat those that can be of help to the nurse. Once you have treated these people, they can then toddle to result your instructions. They will be the ones to give Cpr, wrap tourniquets and do anything it is that the nurse thinks that they can handle. How many of us can unquestionably dream a situation like this? The nurses who assisted the wounded during Hurricane Katrina lived it day after day.

No one knows where or when a disaster may occur. We are constantly being bombarded by the news informing us of elevated terror threats using colors. The fact is that most citizen are never prepared for a disaster. This does not mean that we should not try. This is the reason for teaching disaster nursing in nursing schools. Nurses have to learn about how to be a leader, how to mobilize teams, and build people. Not a small task. This is why that nurses should constantly modernize their knowledge.

With the coming of new types of biological and chemical warfare, scenarios such as Hurricane Katrina could pale in comparison. First of all, every nurse should register themselves with a local emergency response team in their area. Secondly, every nurse should begin to read and accumulate discrete continuing instruction due in the field of disaster nursing. Hopefully they will never have to use their new found knowledge. However, if the time were to arrive that their nursing perceive was required, then they would have some idea what to do. For it is their decision manufacture and leadership skills that will facilitate saving the most people, and it is very possible that they will be alone in manufacture such decisions.

Nursing education - The importance of critical reasoning

In the nursing profession, more now than ever, the capability to think critically is essential. The responsibilities of a Registered Nurse have increased over the years. In correlation with this increase in responsibility comes the added increase in educational prerequisites and core requisites required to achieve a degree in Nursing. The Ana (American Nursing Association) Standards has set forth the framework valuable for valuable mental in the application of the "nursing process". The nursing process is the tool by which all nurses can equally become proficient at valuable thinking. The nursing process contains the following criteria:

1. Assessment
2. Diagnosis
3. Planning
4. Implementation
5. Evaluation

It is in the application of each of these processes that the nurse may become proficient at valuable thinking. It is foremost to look at the components that impart valuable mental in nursing, The table below lists components that define the valuable mental process. There is much more that goes into valuable mental than what is listed in the table. The table is a rough draft of the process.

Critical mental Components

Entails purposeful, informed, outcome focused thinking, that requires true identification of specific problems and other physiological and psychological factors that affect the clients position on the health and wellness continuum.

The process is driven by the client, the client's family and other health team members who are also collaborating in ensuring valuable client care.

Specific educational knowledge base and level of experience in applying that knowledge in client care. (Nursing School to graduate nurse to experienced nurse) As the level of experience of the nurse increases so will the scientific knowledge base that the nurse applies.

Proficiency in the application of the institutions standards, policies and procedures.

Application of the humanistic standards of caring in conjunction with the nursing process, to holistically treat the clients response to an actual or perceived illness.

Constant appraisal and re-evaluation of the nursing process to determine the clients level of wellness

Nurses learn valuable mental via application with experience. experience is the best teacher. But it is equally foremost to know that the process is being applied correctly. Many institutions will ensure that this pathway is followed by enlisting new nurses in a eight to ten week orientation program. During this time the new nurse will learn about the polices and procedures of that custom and what type of documentation is used for charting purposes. Also, the new nurse will have an experienced mentor who they will result and who will value their execution as well.

Documentation is an valuable part of the valuable mental process for the nurse. Every custom places emphasis on documentation. It is said, "that if it is not documented, then it was not done". Since the nursing process is a scientific process. In scientific research, all things are documented. In this documentation, researches can look back to see if the results were due to interventions and either or not the interventions were prosperous or have to be altered. The documentation process helps the nurse achieve the same goals. Many times procedures are used that have unproven efficacy.

In it is this framework of valuable mental and documentation that such procedures can be either prolonged or eliminated, depending on the efficacy of the research. In other words, does the course indubitably improve, help or otherwise jeopardize the client's health. An example of the valuable mental process and scientific mental is in the efficacy of taking a rectal temperature of new born infants. Currently, this course is still widely accepted. Any way the scientific coming is to ask the following, is the course safe, is it necessary, and can an axillary temp be used in place of the rectal temp? In answering these questions, the nurse can good value either the efficacy of taking a rectal temp on a baby should be continued.

This is just one example of how the valuable mental process is used within the nursing profession. The scientific coming using valuable mental helps the nurse form evidence based practice. It is straight through "evidence based practice" that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of health Care Organizations (Jcaho) rates the execution of hospitals. added investigate is still chronic in delineating the intricacies of the nursing process and the integration of valuable thinking. All health care professionals are encouraged to pursue this type of investigate in their custom to ensure the capability of client care and heighten the validity of their profession.

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