4:08 p.m., April 20, 2007--The University of Delaware School of Nursing will conduct two disaster drills from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-4 p.m., Thursday, April 26, on the Newark campus. Each drill, simulating an explosion in Trabant University Center, will involve 100 students and a dozen faculty and staff.

“The drill was established to expose all types of nursing students to a potential disaster before they will be expected to operate in a disaster as a licensed nurse,” Amy Cowperthwait, laboratory coordinator, said. “When there is a true disaster, it no longer matters what type of nurse you are, you need to care for the sick and injured. There is a specific method to make sense out of the chaos and our goal is to show the students if everyone is performing their assigned task it can run smoothly without causing injury to any of the caregivers.”

Cowperthwait said the simulation reinforces the assessment skills that students have learned, provides them with a means to apply their knowledge and exposes them to an area of nursing that is not usually thought of or planned for.

During each of the drills, 25 freshman and 25 sophomores will act as technicians or victims while 25 juniors will play the role of secondary nurses. Twenty-five seniors will be acting as primary nurses.

The freshmen and sophomores will be taking vitals, applying oxygen and helping in transportation from the scene of the incident to a "hospital.” Juniors will be assisting the primary nurse, performing assessments and administering care to the victims. Seniors will be triaging patients, delegating responsibility, performing assessments and administering care to the victims.

Article by Martin Mbugua