In the event of a disaster the nurse’s primary roles are to activate the hospitals disaster plan. In doing this the nurse helps keep those in danger safe and helps those that are injured when they come to the hospital. The nurse helps triage patients and help carry put an evacuation plan and transportation for those who need to go to other medical centers. The nurse should help others who have been affected by the disaster however they should also make sure they are safe as well. As a nurse you always want to help others who are in need, and many forget that within that duty to help others you also must help yourself when needed.
In the ANA Code of Ethics, it states that the nurse’s primary responsibility is to the patient however it also states that the nurse owes that same duty to oneself. In the context of a natural disaster, I feel as though the Code of Ethics leaves some grey area. It mentions the primary responsibility is to the patient but that you also owe that to yourself because then if you had to choose one person in the end it isn’t clear who that should be. I think if I was put in that position as a nurse, I would have an ethical dilemma about what I should do even though it comes natural to me to always help others first. In a perfect situation you would help everyone that needs it but that is not always the case in those situations.
