Nurses Responsibilities during an Emergency Situation - Essay Example

?Nurses’ Responsibilities during an Emergency Situation Nurses work in a wide range of emergency situations, both in and out of the hospital environment (Lundy and Janes, 2009). Natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes and hurricanes are known to cause much damage not only to property but also to human life. Some people die while others get seriously injured. Others are emotionally traumatized from their experiences. In situation such as these, the work done by nurse is critical (Carmona, 2010). Public health nurses work to provide services in hospitals as well as in the communities affected by disasters. Their work outside the hospital includes providing water, food and sanitation services as well and communicating the health implications and needs to the people affected (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). This paper looks at what the public nurse work involves when a disaster such as a typhoon hits a populated area. Hospitals When a typhoon hits an area and causes physical injuries and death, hospitals normally find themselves overwhelmed by the number of patients that have to be attended to. Most disasters that involve water, like typhoons are significant due to the levels of damage and mortality involved (Adelman and Legg, 2009). Typhoons may cause people to get injured due to the structural damage that it causes. Those injured may have inside buildings that came down when the typhoon struck. Others might have been driving and their vehicles crushed as a result of the disaster. Others may have been injured trying to escape from the ensuing floods and destruction. Typhoons may also cause environmental imbalances which may in turn increase the risk of environmental hazards and communicable diseases. The likelihood of diseases such as typhoid and cholera is very high when a disaster such as this occurs (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). Hospitals must always be ready to handle such emergency situations that arise from natural or man made disasters. There should be special centers that are set up to deal with any arising emergency situation. In the case of a typhoon, the people who come for medical attention may have different levels of injuries (Adelman and Legg, 2009). However, the nurses in the health facility should have everything in place to ensure that all the medical needs of the patients are taken care of, regardless of how seriously injured the patients may be. It is the duty of nurses to ensure that the loss of life due to injuries is kept at a minimal level (Carmona, 2010). The nurses should coordinate with other hospital staff to ensure that doctors attend to those who are seriously injured as fast as possible. The nurses should also work with doctors in the Intensive Care Unit and emergency centers to ensure that there is enough equipment and medical material to take care of patients (Gebbie and Qureshi, 2002). If there is need to get outside help, the nurses have the responsibility of ensuring that there is proper coordination of activities so that patients can be given the attention they need. The nurses working in hospitals during emergency situations should ensure that all facilities available are well utilized to help save lives (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). Water When a typhoon occurs, there is normally water everywhere, making it hard for people to get clean water. In the nursing context, it is the duty of the public health nurse to ensure that people affected by a typhoon or any other disaster for that matter get clean water, especially for drinking and cooking. Nurses should work hand in hand with other emergency agencies and organizations to ensure that everyone has access to clean water, especially for drinking (Adelman and Legg, 2009). By providing clean drinking water to the community affected by a typhoon, or any other disaster for that matter, he nurses would be fulfilling theory part of their role of providing basic care and life requirements. Water should be made available to everyone who has been affected by a disaster. In the case of a typhoon, it is very difficult to get any clean water (Veenema, 2007); therefore the nurses working in these communities should ensure that people know where to get clean water. Food Food also becomes a problem when a disaster as big as a typhoon occurs in a place. The most affected areas are those that are densely populated such as Hong Kong in this case. People who are displaced by the typhoon are normally in need of many things, but the most important is food. Nurses working in such conditions are obligated to ensure that those affected by the disaster have access to food that can sustain them until the situation get better. It would be hard for nurses to get enough food for everyone (Ivanov and Blue, 2008). What this means is that public health nurses should work in collaboration with other organizations and government agencies that are responsible for distributing food and other services to people affected by typhoons or other disasters. The role of nurses in the distribution of food is to ensure that everyone has enough of it (Hitchcock, Schubert and Thomas, 2003). It is also the duty of nurses to ensure that the food available to people affected by a disaster is nutritional. Care should be taken that the food distributed to the affected people does not come onto contact with harmful chemicals that might have been released into the environment after the disaster (Ivanov and Blue, 2008). The nurses should pay extra attention to the vulnerable in the community. These include the elderly, children and lactating mothers (Veenema, 2007). Nurses should ensure that these groups of people get adequate food rations to last them until everything is back to normal. Sanitation Typhoons normally cause great concern in terms of sanitation. A string typhoon can wash away buildings which house toilets and bathrooms. The ensuing floods can cause some health problems especially if the water comes into contact with the sewage system. One of the roles of the public health nurse working in such a condition is to ensure that the sanitation needs of the people affected are taken care of. In a situation where the community’s sanitation is a problem, the health of the population is normally put at risk (Lundy and Janes, 2009). There is normally the danger of having communicable diseases spread due to lack of clean drinking water coupled with a disintegrated sanitation system. Disasters such as typhoons can cause extensive damage to property, which means that the amount of debris that is left lying around is quite huge. This poses a sanitation problem because it means that the affected area is not hygienic enough for people to live in (Stanhope and Lancaster, 2008). It is the duty of the public health nurses working in such conditions to ensure that people have ample information about the sanitation conditions prevailing at the time. It is also part of their duty to ensure that the water and other basic life commodities that people use are safe for human use. All effort should be made to ensure that communities affected by disasters have sufficient sanitation needs (Adelman and Legg, 2009). If there are places where clean water comes into contact with sewage waste due to floods, care must be taken that no one uses that water for any domestic purposes. The nurses should work in close collaboration with the area’s authorities to ensure that open sewage systems are closed up and if that is not possible, then people should be evacuated to places where sanitation is not a problem (Lundy and Janes, 2009). Nurses should also ensure that the equipment used for medical services are not contaminated in any way. Communication Proper health communication is important at all stages of a disaster. This is because people normally rely on proper communication to get assistance and to offer support whenever it is needed (Gebbie and Qureshi, 2002). Communication during a disaster should be well coordinated so as to avoid confusions which might make a bad situation worse. For the purposes of health communication, public health nurses should establish a central communication center where any information related to the disaster can be accessed (Hitchcock, Schubert and Thomas, 2003). There are many reasons why nurses should establish central communication centers in collaboration with other agencies and organizations working to help those affected by the disaster. One of these reasons is to offer comfort to the affected community. Dictators normally bring about a lot of confusion and fear. People normally do not know what to do in these situations. Proper and relevant communication is therefore important to ensure that everyone remains calm to avoid any further complications. Communication to avoid panic and fear is quite important as it enables nurses and other aid workers to carry out their activities in an organized manner (Ivanov and Blue, 2008). The communication offered by nurses working in paces affected by calamities is also important as it enables community members to get the assistance they need. This kind of coordinated communication allows people from different parts of the affected area to get proper information about where to get medical help (Veenema, 2007). It also enables them to know the situation as it is. This means that with proper communication, people do not need to rely on rumors but on verifiable information, especially as it relates to health. If there is an outbreak, the affected community is ale to know what to do to prevent further infections. Communication from public nurses during and after a disaster also enables people to know where to get what kind of medical assistance (Gebbie and Qureshi, 2002). The communication offered by nursing staff working among people affected by a disaster should be open and clear. This makes it easier to manage the resources available and to help maintain calm and organization so as to reach out to as many people as possible (Hitchcock, Schubert and Thomas, 2003). Conclusion The core mandate of any nurse is to care for patients and to save lives. The services offered by public health nurses in times of disasters are very important in helping avert more deaths and injuries caused by the disaster. The work they perform in hospitals or within the affected community goes a long way to ensure that no more loss of lives occurs. Within the community, nurses work hard to ensure that the health needs of the population are met. These needs include water, food and sanitation. Communication related to the community’s health during this time is also part of the work done by public health nurses. The roles of nurses in managing the medical care needed during catastrophic events are very important. This means that nurses, especially those who work within communities affected by disasters should always be prepared to offer whatever kind of medical support that is needed. They not only assts patients medically, but they also help communities to adjust to the emotional, physical, spiritual, environmental and psychological conditions that they find themselves under. Therefore it is the duty of public health nurses to provide a caring relationship that enhances health and healing. It is within their mandate to give attention to the wide range of human responses and experiences during and after a disastrous event. Nurses working with communities which have been affected by man made or natural calamities are responsible for ensuring that the people have adequate food and water to sustain their health. The food and water should be non-contaminated and enough for everyone. It is also the work of the public health nurse to ensure that the sanitation needs of the masses are met. This means ensuring that people live in areas where the sanitation condition does not pose a threat to their well being. Communication during a disaster is also an important part of the roles played by public health nurses. This communication helps in the dissemination of accurate information as regards the health needs of the population affected by the disaster. The work done by the medical fraternity, and especially nurses during and after a disaster strikes a place is very important. Not only do they help save lives, they also help people or survivors of the disaster to adapt themselves to the situation as it is. Their work is so important, that without it, it would be almost impossible to get over a calamity. It is therefore important for nurses working in and out of hospitals to ensure that they are always ready to deal with emergency situations. They should always be aware of what is required of them and be ready to offer to support any response and recovery efforts to the communities in which they work. References Adelman, D.S. and Legg, T.J. 2009. Disaster Nursing: A Handbook for Practice. London: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Carmona, R. 2010. Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response: Principles and Practice. Landover, MD: Public Health Service. Gebbie, K,M. and Qureshi, K. 2002. Emergency and Disaster Preparedness: Core Competencies for Nurses: What Every Nurse Should but May Not Know. American Journal of Nursing, Vol. 102, No. 1, pp 46-51. Hitchcock, J.E., Schubert, P.E. and Thomas, S.A. 2003. Community Health nursing: Caring in Action, Vol. 1. London: Thomson Delmar Learning. Ivanov, L.L. and Blue, C. L. 2008. Public Health Nursing: Leadership, Policy and Practice. New York, NY: Cengage Learning. Lundy, K.S. and Janes, S. 2009. Community Health Nursing: Caring for the Public’s Health. London: Jones Bartlett Publishers. Stanhope, M. and Lancaster, J. (2008). Public Health Nursing: Population Centered Health Care in the Community. London: Elsevier. Veenema. T.G. 2007. Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness: for Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Read More