The World Health Organization, Federal Emergency Management Agency as well as the Red Cross have an upper hand when it comes to dealing with disasters. Moreover, disaster, being a sudden occurrence that leads to damage of property, health as well as loss of life in extreme cases, needs immediate attention. Therefore, disaster preparedness is paramount. This is due to the fact that nursing is a caring profession and it is evident that in several cases when disaster strikes, the nurses are needed more. However, it is more often oblivious of the fact that they too have families to attend to during disasters and that is why nurses need to have an emergency kit, a plan as well as being informed on what is expected of them. As a result, the nurses will be able to help their families and the community at large by being involved fully during disasters. Thus, having a disaster plan and being informed is very vital for nurses (Alim, Kawabata & Nakazawa, 2015).
The American Nurses Association which is also known as ANA, addresses the Ethics, law as well as the nurse’s duty in responding to a disaster. In as much as a Nurse is needed when disaster strikes, with reference to ANA Code of Ethics which talks of attending to a patient being a primary duty of a nurse, the latter also has a duty to care for self. Additionally, nurses tend to be exposed to many things while attending to patients which might even put their lives at risk. Therefore, there is need for proper planning and preparedness for disaster management so as to avoid putting the nurses in a dilemma as well as their lives at risk just because of their obligation. The good news is that ANA is at the forefront in ensuring that the ethics and laws governing a nurse’s duty are well looked into while safeguarding their human rights (Veenema et.Al, 2016).
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To add, one of my roles as an individual in the disaster plan is to learn first aid and also to be informed about the types of disasters of which can either be natural or man-made; and how to respond to each so as to be efficient. Even more, as part of being personally prepared I have my emergency kit always ready and an inventory of home contents such as pictures for record keeping as well as safe locations within the house in case of an emergency.
References
Alim, S., Kawabata, M., & Nakazawa, M. (2015). Evaluation of disaster preparedness training and disaster drill for nursing students. Nurse education today, 35(1), 25-31.
Veenema, T. G., Griffin, A., Gable, A. R., MacIntyre, L., Simons, R. N., Couig, M. P., ... & Larson, E. (2016). Nurses as leaders in disaster preparedness and response—a call to action. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 48(2), 187-200.
