Running Head: NURSING CARE DURING MASS CAUSUALTY EVENTS 1

Nursing Care During Mass Casualty Events

Ariadna Figueira RN

Delaware Technical & Community College

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NURSING CARE DURING MASS CAUSUALTY EVENTS

At a time where the world seems to be in such turmoil, with nuclear threats from foreign

lands and tragic amounts of mass shootings erupting on our own soil, nurses need to be ready to

respond to mass-casualty situations. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation there has

been a dramatic increase in mass shootings since 2000. Between 2000 and 2013 there have been

160 mass shootings, averaging 11.4 per year; one of the most gruesome occurring this past

weekend in Las Vegas, during a festival. Hospitals were overwhelmed and nurses from all

specialties came together to act as trauma nurses. 74% of medical personnel believe that they are

poorly prepared should anything occur (Weiner, Irwin, Trangenstein, & Gordon, 2005).

It is extremely important to have nurses available that are able to help coordinate and

efficiently treat patients in this type of situation. There are very systematic approaches which are

briefly covered in nursing school; however the majority for the nursing work force ends their

training at this point. This translates to the fact that if nurses are not specialized in trauma, they

are not prepared to work in this type of situation effectively. The skills that prove essential in a

mass casualty event are skills that help nurses with all aspects of care. Crisis management can be

adapted to improve techniques and strategies implemented every day in the hospital. Triage and

assessment are two examples of essential skills needed during a mass crisis that are used with

daily patient care. Being able to use strategized assessments techniques when receiving new

patients make us more efficient in quickly providing lifesaving interventions.

In mass casualty situations, all members of the health care team are needed. Roles are

combined and adjusted to adapt to each situation. While normally only EMS works in the field,

we may have nurses, doctors, aids, etc. treating patients in the field and only taking critical
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patients to the hospital. This past week in Las Vegas, the most gruesome shooting occurred and

hospitals were scrambling to keep up with the sudden 500+ victims So many patients poured

into the city's hospitals that pediatric surgeons were operating on adults and obstetricians were

attending to trauma patients (Tim Craig, Felicia Mello and Lena H. Sun). When training for

these situations, every member of hospital staff can be included, administration, educators,

management. Hospitals run drills to not only prepare staff but ensure protocols and equipment

functions efficiently should the time come. We take these drills and make improvements. Often

times the community is even involved where any person with any health care knowledge can be

utilized.
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Resources

Blair. J. Pete, and Schweit, Katherine W. (2014). A Study of Active Shooter Incidents, 2000-

2013. Texas State University and Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S Department of

Justice, Washington D.C. 2014

Craig, T., Mello, F., Sun, L. (2017) As the wounded kept coming, Las Vegas hospitals dealt with

injuries rarely seen in the U.S. Retrieved from

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-las-vegas-shooting-20171003-

story.html

Weiner, E., Irwin, M., Trangenstein, P., & Gordon, J. (2005). Emergency preparedness

curriculum in US nursing schools, Survey Results. Nursing Education Perspectives,

26(6), 334-339.