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.
ANS: A
To prevent staff post-traumatic stress disorder during a mass casualty event, the 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. Encouraging counseling upon deactivation of the plan, or after the emergency response is over, does not prevent stress during the casualty event. Assigning staff to unfamiliar roles or units may increase situational stress and is not an approach to prevent post-traumatic stress disorder.
You might also like to view...
A male patient has come into the free clinic asking to be tested for HIV infection. The patient asks the nurse how the test works
The nurse responds that if the testing shows antibodies to the AIDS virus are present in the blood, this indicates what? A) The patient is immune to HIV. B) AIDS is inactive in the body. C) The patient may have unprotected intercourse because he is not infected with HIV. D) The patient has been infected with HIV.
The nurse has just given a patient a narcotic for pain relief. Because the nurse must leave the unit for lunch and a 1-hour meeting, the task of evaluating the patient's response to the pain medica-tion must be delegated
To whom should the nurse delegate this responsibility? a. Nursing assistant c. Licensed practical nurse b. Student nurse d. Nurse manager
If a woman is three months pregnant, which breast changes should the nurse expect to assess?
A) Slack, soft breast tissue B) Deeply fissured nipples C) Enlarged lymph nodes D) Darkened breast areolae
The nurse is participating in the New Drug Review step for a new therapeutic agent. Which activities will the nurse most likely perform during this phase of the drug approval process?
1. Attend meetings to finalize the brand name for the drug. 2. Check on the results of animal testing. 3. Survey for harmful effects in a larger population. 4. Evaluate the results of the drug on cultured cells. 5. Provide the medication to large groups of people with a particular disease.