Student nurses conduct Operation Seek & Treat

OVER 70 student nurses from the Division of Nursing Education (DNE) converged on both Mt Wynne beaches on Wednesday to test their mass casualty management (MCM) skills, this exercise being part of their final assessment before graduating from the registered nursing (RN) program.

The scenario involved a shipwreck following which pirates robbed all tourists and raped the wife of a honeymooning couple, leaving them in a state shock and physical trauma from both incidents. The sister of the bride made a 911 emergency call and both law enforcement and medical personnel arrived on the scene to respond the accident.

The first responders arrived in quick time, assessed the situation and radioed for additional help including the state of which the victims were in. This is important information for the medical responders as they would know the exact type of injuries sustained by the victims, so that they could bring the relevant accoutrements to deal with the specific injuries.

The seriously incapacitated victims were moved by stretcher from the beach to the advanced medical post, before being further assessed and stabilized for transport to the nearest medical centre.

Nurses also used the opportunity to use two-way radios to communicate among themselves. No cell phones were used. The exercise ran for four hours following which a debriefing session was conducted to identify areas of weakness as well as commending those who performed well.

Also observing and assessing the activity were two senior officers from the National Emergency Management Organization including the deputy director Kenson Stoddard and communications officer Jerwayne Laidlow; Rainbow Radio League Inc. director Donald De Riggs, as well as several tutors from DNE.

During the evaluation De Riggs urged the nurses to get involved in at least one major physical exercise activity per month as MCM events can involve a lot of physically stressful activities including stretcher bearing over rugged terrain. Also present was a member of the Special Services Unit (SSU) of the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force for group security.

Mass casualty events include stadium collapses, cruise ship accidents, plane crashes, bus crashes, or following the passage of a major hurricane or devastating earthquake. Over the years, the DNE has come up with several scenarios to test the application of theory by conducting near real life simulations. This year the MCM course was co-ordinated by DNE lecturers Hilton James and Raphael John. (Contributed by: Donald De Riggs).