School of Nursing Hosts Mass Casualty Event
Lee’s School of Nursing recently hosted a mass casualty event for its nursing students on Lee’s campus. The drill was modeled after a tornado emergency scenario, with approximately 230 students and faculty participating.
“This event takes the students so far beyond classroom learning and provides a crucial hands-on experience, instilling the skills and confidence needed to navigate high-stress situations,” said Shannon McBrayer, director of simulation and experiential learning and event coordinator. “Our belief is that by exposing students to realistic scenarios, we empower them to become compassionate, adept healthcare professionals capable of delivering optimal care during emergencies.”
The training event took place on Paul Conn Parkway outside of the School of Nursing, lasting between 1:30-3:30 with a prebrief and debrief before and after. Over 100 students from both Lee and area high schools participated as disaster victims.
During the event, five waves of victims were brought from the field into the School of Nursing’s hospital, where they were treated by nursing majors and student nurse practitioners. Some students treated and dealt with various injuries, including broken bones, sprains, burns, blunt force trauma, impalement, eye injuries, severe cuts, and psychological first aid. Other students were tasked with wave control, releasing victims to first responders in a timely manner to manage how many they focused on at once.
“The drill was very helpful in learning how to control and adapt to a stressful situation,” said Connor Brown, a Disaster and Healthcare Mission Management (DHMM) major. “It gave me insight on the amount of organization, planning, and practice that different emergency situations need. The drill allowed me and my classmates to experience a realistic environment for our major’s work field, as well as learning opportunities on how to handle situations like this in the future.”
The drill was designed to train multiple groups of students, including student nurse practitioners, Lee’s nursing majors, athletic training, DHMM, School of Theology & Ministry, and journalism and media majors, as well as high school students from Bradley Central & Walker Valley in the Health Occupation Student of America program and Cleveland High School Emergency Medical Services students.
“This drill helped us learn what to prioritize, how to organize, and how to work together in a way that we could never have learned by simply reading a textbook,” said Jamey Ryan, a senior nursing major. “I am so thankful for the team of professors who care about preparing us for every situation, so we are not blindsided by all the things that could go wrong.”
For more information about the School of Nursing, visit leeu/nursing.
