I am a Plastic and Reconstructive Nurse with the majority of my patients being Breast Cancer victims who have undergone mastectomy and are after Breast Reconstruction. Most of my patients have undergone the procedure successfully and have maintained healthier lives with them following the recommended practices expected of them as a result of their condition(s). On the other hand, there are the cases that have been so disheartening that they really have taken along to get off my mind. One particular case is that of a thirty-year-old woman who everything seemed to be inclined against. She was in the final phase of Metastatic Breast Cancer, after having had a rough time for five years from the time when it was diagnosed.
The events that took place around this period got me thinking that nurses need to be well-equipped to deal with disasters in the community. This was the time when Hurricane Ivan struck leaving ninety-two people dead right through the Caribbean and the United States, in addition to the estimated thirteen billion-dollar smash-up, it left behind (Tracking The Tropics, Hurricane Ivan, 2004). It is the United States’ fifth costliest such catastrophe in history. Taking action in the event of adversities and helping out communities in recuperation is a central part of public health nurses.
In as much as this hurricane began as a Tropical Depression Nine, the Cape Verde-type hurricane spread with time and regions such as New Jersey got affected mainly because they were unprepared for such an eventuality since such occurrences in the past have more often than not bypassed the region.
Hurricane Ivan brought a lot of flooding in New Jersey. My patient’s husband was one of the unlucky people to be caught up with the floods. He was coming back from an appointment and the catastrophe met him while driving. With the floods raging, he thought that the best option was to disembark and find his way home on foot. However, this was ill-fated as he was overwhelmed by strong winds and water currents and drowned leaving behind his wife and two very young children aged seven and six years (American Red Cross, 2007b).
Acting in response to unexpected and rising health hazards from natural calamities challenges all nurses, regardless they are in the community/public or private sector. Consequently, these professionals need superior training so that they are of help in disasters.
Proficiency in crisis vigilance as laid bare by specialized performance is a product of awareness, skillfulness and capabilities gained in the course of an array of learning experiences that are employed in real-life circumstances (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, 2007). It is essential that at the foundation phase of this profession, there should be a fundamental level of information and handiness that all are required to possess to fit as entry-stage experts their medical practice site notwithstanding.
Essential curricular content for community health nursing crisis attentiveness commences with the identification that effectual management of a calamity calls for the joining together of activities from various social structures including crisis reaction, sensitive care, and communal health.
A well-thought-out reaction to calamity(s) needs to be directed by an event control framework that administers commands, checks correspondence and synchronizes various resources (Stanley, 2005, p. 453). Community health nurses should be well-equipped, both skill-wise and other resources required, to be able to function in a range of calamity-related duties while keeping up an emphasis on populaces including groupings most susceptible in the course of calamity events.
Reference List
American Red Cross. (2007b). Preparing for a disaster: Family disaster plans. Web.
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. (2007). APRN education for emergency preparedness and all-hazards response: Resources and suggested content. Web.
Stanley, J. (2005). Disaster competency development and integration in nursing education. Nursing Clinics of North America, 40(3), 453.
TrackingTheTropics.com – Hurricane Ivan 2004. Web.