After attending a nursing conference, it’s typical to walk away with some continuing education credits and knowledge of a few new best practices.
However, for our colleagues in Orlando, the decision to attend the 2015 Emergency Nurses Association’s annual conference in Orlando was literally life-changing. The conference featured a surprise mass casualty drill with an active shooter scenario. I participated in the drill and was disturbed that the mock gunman injured or killed 100 before committing suicide. Even though the blood, screams, wounds and casualties were simulated, the realistic experience was completely surreal.
That drill came at a critical time. On June 12, 2016 — exactly one year ago, and just eight months after the conference training — a real-life shooter killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at the Pulse nightclub. Nurses in Orlando used mass casualty response skills they hoped they’d never have to use.
It was that type of training that helped our attendees understand the importance of planning for every scenario. Questions like: “What do we do if we lose power?” or “What if the phones go out?” will now never seem arbitrary. We need to know how to locate our back-up supplies, which spaces to use and how to establish an incident command inside and outside, and we need to designate a leader so nurses and the entire response team can work to the best of their ability.
[See: Who’s Who at Your Doctor’s Office.]
Reverse Triage Mindset
One reality that the training really drove home is the necessity of shifting our perspective from treating the most acute patients first to thinking about how we can maximize the number of lives saved.
While we’d love each patient to have a good outcome, disaster training taught us that the triage process has to change in this situation. We have to consider which patients can realistically be treated and accept the reality that we won’t be able to save everyone. It doesn’t mean we won’t bring our best for each and every individual, but it is a practical way of planning care for a large number of people in a short time frame.
[See: 13 Things Your Nurse Wishes You Knew.]
Re-Purposing Emergency Department Space
Another aspect of the training that was of paramount importance after the Pulse nightclub shooting was the shift of the physical emergency department from a treatment area to a triage area. At Orlando Regional Medical Center, the ICU became the treatment area because they expected another patient surge.
Mass casualty incident training taught us what our emergency management policies needed to contain, including:
— available carts
— surge locations
— establishing a corporate command and/or site command center
— calling for back-up from area hospitals
[See: 9 Things to Do or Say When a Loved One Talks About Taking Their Life.]
Knowledge Is Power
I hope no other nurse finds themselves putting disaster training to use in real life. But with the recent London stabbings and Manchester bombing, statistics are not favoring these odds. As we mark the one-year anniversary of the Pulse tragedy, I encourage all emergency health care professionals to get involved in emergency preparedness. I’ll be back at the Emergency Nurses Association’s training September 14 in St. Louis and look forward to all the conference has to offer, such as mass casualty readiness.
I’m so proud of our nurses in Orlando and around the world who’ve responded to these horrible acts of violence. Now, more than ever, I encourage you to get involved in emergency preparedness training and continue to advance your knowledge in this area.
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On the Anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub Shooting, Reflecting on the Role of Mass Casualty Training originally appeared on usnews.com
