Nokea
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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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.
After a hospital's emergency department (ED) has efficiently triaged, treated, and transferred clients from a community disaster to appropriate units, the hospital incident command officer wants to stand down from the emergency plan. Which question should the nursing supervisor ask at this time?
- A. Are you sure no more victims are coming into the ED?
- B. What will happen to the needs of other hospital departments?
- C. Have all ED staff had the chance to eat and rest recently?
- D. Does the Chief Medical Officer agree this disaster is under control?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Before standing down, the incident command officer must ensure that other hospital departments' needs are met, as they may require continued support to maintain operations.
A hospital prepares for a mass casualty event. Which functions are correctly paired with the personnel role? (Select all that apply.)
- A. Hospital incident commander: Decides the number, acuity, and resource needs of clients
- B. Hospital incident commander: Assumes overall leadership for implementing the emergency plan
- C. Public information officer: Provides advanced life support during transportation to the hospital
- D. Triage officer: Rapidly evaluates each client to determine priorities for treatment
- E. Medical command physician: Serves as a liaison between the health care facility and the media
Correct Answer: B,D
Rationale: The hospital incident commander leads the emergency plan implementation, and the triage officer evaluates clients for treatment priorities. The medical command physician, not the incident commander, assesses client numbers and needs, and the public information officer, not the medical command physician, liaises with the media.
A nurse cares for clients during a community-wide disaster drill. One of the clients asks, 'Why are the individuals with black tags not receiving any care?' How should the nurse respond?
- A. Not everyone will survive a disaster; it is necessary to sacrifice some.
- B. Not everyone will survive a disaster, so it is best to identify those people early and move on.
- C. In a disaster, extensive resources are not used for one person at the expense of many others.
- D. With black tags, volunteers can identify those who are dying and can give them comfort care.
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: In a disaster, military-style triage is used, identifying the dead or expectant dead with black tags to prioritize resources for those with a reasonable expectation of survival, maximizing the good for the most people.
The hospital administration arranges for critical incident stress debriefing for the staff after a mass casualty incident. Which statement by the debriefing team leader is most appropriate for this situation?
- A. You are safe now and the event is over.
- B. Let's evaluate what went wrong and develop policies for future incidents.
- C. This session is only for nursing and medical staff, not for ancillary personnel.
- D. Let's pass around the written policy compliance form for everyone.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The most appropriate statement is to reassure staff that they are safe and the event is over, helping to reduce anxiety and facilitate emotional processing during the debriefing.