In the event that disaster strikes while you’re on a travel nursing assignment, would you know how to react? This year alone, cities across the country have experienced everything from tornados to train derailments and those working in the healthcare industry have been turned to for help. When complete chaos is happening around you, you need to know how to keep your cool and help injured and worried parties nearby. If you’ve found a mentor to turn to in your career, you may want to ask him or her for advice. We also have the following suggestions to help you:
Remember the basics
Before helping anyone else, make sure that you are OK. When suffering from any wounds or requiring medical attention, be sure to take a moment and address the issues. You won’t be able to help others if you are woozy from a blow to the head. Once you’re good to go, enlist the help of others and delegate minor injuries to them.
When faced with a disaster, it’s likely that there will be a number of injuries to address and patients to help. If you can’t figure out where to start with a patient, think about airway, breathing and circulation – the ABCs of nursing. Being able to focus on these basics will help to calm your nerves and get you thinking on the right track. In the craziness of a disastrous event, it can be difficult to address everyone who needs assistance. Do your best to make sure you are helping those who are at the greatest risk, and then come back to the less severely injured.
Prepare yourself
Working as a travel nurse, you already have the skills to help others, but you may want to consider taking a disaster nursing course to better equip yourself for these eventualities. These types of classes will provide you with additional information on top of the basics for first aid and CPR. You will also learn how to help an injured patient without your usual supplies. Oftentimes this is one of the biggest struggles healthcare professionals face when they are presented with an unexpected and dangerous situation. If you commute to your assignments in a car, keep an emergency care bag in your trunk with supplies like a CPR mask, gloves and water. These items and others found in a first aid kit can go a long way.
Listen to others
If there is someone else who is better suited to take charge of the situation, listen up! There’s such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, and you don’t want to contradict someone else’s instructions (unless they are putting someone else in danger). Be sure to work with and listen to others to ensure that all those in need of assistance are helped. Just the same, you’ll want to maintain communication with additional healthcare professionals who are pitching in to lend a helping hand. If you notice someone has been working too hard or has an injury that requires attention, do what you can to offer care. It’s not uncommon for caregivers to put off their own well-being when someone else are in need, so remind them that they can’t help others if they aren’t cared for themselves.
Depending on your experience before working travel nursing jobs, you may be more prepared for disastrous events. However, even if you’ve never stepped foot in an emergency room or trauma unit, you can still ready yourself for a tornado, earthquake, bombing or other type of disaster. Small things like keeping your composure can make a big difference in the middle of a panicked group.