A family in the emergency department is overwhelmed at the loss of several family members due to a disaster. What should the nurse do?
- A. Provide a calm location for the family to cope and discuss needs.
- B. Call the hospital chaplain to stay with the family and pray for the deceased.
- C. Delay the viewing of the victims until the bodies are prepared.
- D. Provide privacy for law enforcement to interview the family.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The nurse should first provide emotional support by offering a calm environment, listening to the family's needs, and providing choices to restore some sense of control.
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An emergency department (ED) charge nurse prepares to receive clients from a mass casualty within the community. What is the role of this nurse during the event?
- A. Ask ED staff to discharge clients from the medical-surgical units in order to make room for critically injured victims.
- B. Call additional medical-surgical and critical care nursing staff to come to the hospital to assist when victims are being.
- C. Inform the incident commander at the mass casualty scene about how many victims may be handled by the ED.
- D. Direct medical-surgical and critical care nurses to assist with clients currently in the ED while emergency staff prepare to receive the mass casualty victims.
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The ED charge nurse should direct additional nursing staff to help care for current ED clients while the ED staff prepares to receive mass casualty victims. This ensures efficient resource allocation without assigning non-emergency staff to the most critically ill or injured clients.
A nurse wants to become involved in community disaster preparedness and is interested in helping set up acute care centers in the event of a disaster. Which organization is the best fit for this nurse's interests?
- A. The Medical Reserve Corps
- B. The National Guard
- C. The Health Department
- D. A Disaster Medical Assistance Team
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) consists of volunteer medical and public health professionals who support the community during times of need, including helping staff hospitals and setting up acute care centers.
Emergency medical services (EMS) brings a large number of clients to the emergency department following a serious incident. The nurse identifies the clients with which injuries with yellow tags. (Select all that apply.)
- A. Partial-thickness burns covering both legs
- B. Open fractures with good distal pulses
- C. Neck injury and numbness of both legs
- D. Small pieces of shrapnel embedded in both eyes
- E. Head injury and difficult to arouse
- F. Bruising and pain in the right lower abdomen
Correct Answer: A,C,D,F
Rationale: Clients with burns, spine injuries, eye injuries, and stable abdominal injuries should be treated within 30 minutes to 2 hours and are classified with yellow tags. Open fractures with good distal pulses and head injuries with difficulty arousing require immediate care and would receive red tags.
A nurse triages clients arriving at the hospital after a mass casualty. Which clients are correctly classified? (Select all that apply.)
- A. A 5-year-old female with severe chest pain: red tag
- B. A 42-year-old male with full-thickness body burns: green tag
- C. A 55-year-old female with a scalp laceration: black tag
- D. A 30-year-old male with stable vital signs and a broken arm: yellow tag
- E. A 60-year-old female with minor cuts and abrasions: green tag
- F. A 25-year-old male with massive internal bleeding: red tag
Correct Answer: A,D,E,F
Rationale: Red tags are for life-threatening injuries requiring immediate care, such as severe chest pain and massive internal bleeding. Yellow tags are for major injuries treatable within 30 minutes to 2 hours, like a stable broken arm. Green tags are for minor injuries, such as cuts and abrasions. Full-thickness burns and scalp lacerations are incorrectly classified as green and black, respectively.
A hospital responds to a local mass casualty event. Which action should the nurse supervisor take to prevent staff post-traumatic stress disorder during a mass casualty event?
- A. Provide water and healthy snacks for energy throughout the event.
- B. Schedule 16-hour shifts to allow for greater rest between shifts.
- C. Encourage counseling upon deactivation of the emergency response plan.
- D. Assign staff to different roles and units within the medical facility.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: To prevent staff post-traumatic stress disorder during a mass casualty event, nurses should use available counseling, encourage and support co-workers, monitor each other's stress level and performance, take breaks when needed, talk about feelings with staff and managers, and drink plenty of water and eat healthy snacks for energy. Nurses should also keep in touch with family, friends, and significant others, and not work for more than 12 hours per day.
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