Disaster Nursing - Icn Position and Recommendation - Rotone, Lycah v. - BSN 4yb-4
Disaster Nursing - Icn Position and Recommendation - Rotone, Lycah v. - BSN 4yb-4
Disaster Nursing - Icn Position and Recommendation - Rotone, Lycah v. - BSN 4yb-4
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1) According to ICN what is the vital role of Nurses in disaster response and
management?
2) Why it that Nurses is are also considered as one of the vulnerable populations
during a disaster? Explain your thoughts about this?
Nurses may be confident in their chosen field, but they are not always
ready to deal with the chaos that can accompany disasters. They are vulnerable
too, just like the patients they taken care of. Even with extensive training and
educational preparation, nurses who learn to expect the unexpected in a disaster
are more nimble in their response.
DISASTER NURSING: ICN Position and Recommendation- ROTONE, LYCAH V. – BSN 4YB-4
security and safety threats bought by the disaster. They are predisposed also to
injuries, infectious diseases and even death.
Furthermore, during disasters, ethical and legal challenges for nurses are
especially significant. The differences from the challenges of everyday practice
are mainly related to the allocation of resources, the lack of privacy and
confidentiality, dealing with the scope and scale of a disaster situation,
appropriate triage, treatment priorities, working autonomously, informed consent,
documentation, and conflicts with colleagues. In addition, as emphasized by
Alpert et al, nurses might face ethical challenges when they have a large influx of
patients during a disaster response and limited resources. Some performance
objectives for healthcare providers, including nurses, which were identified by
Schultz et al, include listing ethical principles related to the emergency or
disaster, being familiar with approaches for allocating resources during a disaster
response, and being able to deal with an ethical dilemma.
3) What should the ICN and the government do to protect nurses during a disaster
or emergency situation?
The ICN and the government must protect the nurses at all cost since
they play a huge part especially when there is a disaster or emergency situation.
The government has a role in setting the vision for seamless, coordinated, safe
response efforts. The states—legislatures, planners, policymakers and response
agencies—have a role in creating non-punitive environments that enhance the
registered nurse’s efficiency and capacity to provide ethical care in response
efforts. Employers need to create, maintain, and constantly improve disaster
plans that help meet the medical needs of the community within a system that
protects registered nurses and other employees or volunteers. This should
include the provision of sufficient, appropriate personal protective equipment,
immunizations, physical security, and operational protocols. Moreover, ICN
recommendations should be strongly implemented and observed.
Listed below are the 5 recommendations that I think are the most vital
components in disaster nursing response and management:
DISASTER NURSING: ICN Position and Recommendation- ROTONE, LYCAH V. – BSN 4YB-4
Promotes strategies that support social justice and equity of access to
needed healthcare and social services, and calls on governments and
disaster risk management organizations to establish the support systems
required to address the health needs of people affected by disaster.
Strongly believes that community participation is fundamental to
successfully align national policies with local disaster risk reduction
needs. As such, it is vital to advocate for the critical involvement of
women, children and youth, persons with disabilities, older persons,
indigenous peoples and migrants. In addition, that people with life-
threatening and chronic diseases, and those who are isolated, should be
included in the design of policies to manage their risks before, during and
after disasters.
Supports and encourages education and training of nurses in disaster risk
reduction, response and recovery, which is guided by the ICN Framework
of Disaster Nursing Competencies.
Supports the Sendai Framework, including the following guiding principles
and priorities for action:
o Disaster risk reduction requires an all-of-society engagement and
partnership, empowerment, and inclusive, accessible and non-
discriminatory participation.
o Disaster risk management is aimed at protecting individuals and
their health, livelihoods, property and productive assets, as well as
cultural and environmental assets, while promoting and protecting
all human rights.
o The responsibility to reduce disaster risk primarily lies with the
State, but it is shared with local government, the private sector
and other stakeholders across relevant sectors.
o Action must be focused on: understanding disaster risk;
strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk;
investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience; enhancing
disaster preparedness for effective response and on ‘Building
Back Better’ in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.
DISASTER NURSING: ICN Position and Recommendation- ROTONE, LYCAH V. – BSN 4YB-4