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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.
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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.
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.
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 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.