Of the students who participated, approximately 50 students acted as simulated victims, and about 100 juniors and 12 seniors shared triaging and leadership roles.
When the drill began, mock shooting victims were screaming from inside a room tucked in the corner on the first floor in McDowell Hall, which for the simulation was dubbed McDowell High School. The scene that unfolded was hectic--nursing students, in the role of triage nurses, ran in and out of the room, tending to “injured” students. Some students with simulated minor cuts and injuries were treated right in the room, while victims with more serious wounds were carried out in sheets by teams of nurses.
After about 10 minutes, the scene of the mock shooting calmed down as victims were taken to appropriate stations to be treated, such as the walk-in clinic, intensive care unit, operating room, black triage area for deceased or dying and the medical-surgical floor unit.
“Whenever you have a disaster it's not going to ever run as smoothly as you want it to but that's why you have drills, to plan for disasters and make it go as smoothly as you possibly can,” said Amy Cowperthwait, simulation laboratory coordinator. “Each student that is functioning as a nurse or a triage person has been taught how to use the disaster tag system.”
Linda Levinson, a junior nursing student and triage nurse during the simulation, said that in one of her classes a speaker came and talked to the students about the different levels of triage--red, yellow and black. Levinson said the disaster drill was beneficial because it exposed students to a potential disaster, but also noted “It would be a lot more chaotic and scary if it were an actual school shooting.”
Bethany Hall-Long, an associate professor of nursing who teaches a course in community health, said disaster management is part of the course, and the students work with Cowperthwait in the lab. Hall-Long said she finds that communities and schools don't always have a disaster plan in place, which can lead to serious repercussions.
Students who were not playing the role of victims or nurses were teachers or school administrators. Laura Johnson, a junior nursing student, acted as the principal of the 1,200-student McDowell High School. “I'm supposed to make sure all students are accounted for and contact parents,” she said. “I advise teachers and other staff on what they need to be doing.”
“I think people are happy to see that the University is being progressive and proactive,” Hall-Long said. “Certainly it's a sensitive subject and we're very respectful of that.”
“I do feel the students were prepared well,” Cowperthwait said. “I feel it was a great success because it has showed the students how to make sense out of chaos. This makes it less scary if they should be called upon in a true disaster.”
Article by Maura Brady, AS '08
Photos by Kathy Atkinson