Assignment Instructions
- Determine the nurses' role in caring for the community during a terrorism or natural disaster. Explain the legal/ethical realms of this care.
- Assess patient's rights and the role of social media within the healthcare system.
Sample Answer
Determine the nurses' role in caring for the community during a terrorism or natural disaster. Explain the legal/ethical realms of this care.
During a natural disaster or terrorism, nurses work in collaboration with interdisciplinary team members to provide the necessary care. Before, during, and after the occurrence of disasters, nurses provide patient education, engage in health promotion activities, and implement the necessary interventions to safeguard public health. Nurses provide advanced clinical care, first aid, and lifesaving medications to patients. These nurses assess the mental and physical health of the victims of disaster and allocate resources for healthcare (Flaubert et al., 2021). Additionally, nurses assist with the organizational logistics by developing security measures and operational responses after examination of data at the individual and community levels.
Beyond the provision of care services, nurses oversee the utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), engage in the organizational emergency operation plans, and provide crisis communication and leadership. At the community level, nurses organize blood drives, open and manage shelters, and provide outreach programs to underserved populations. Nurses provide care to vulnerable populations such as frail elderly, pregnant mothers, and infants and children (Flaubert et al., 2021). Of worth noting disasters place a lot of demands on healthcare and test the skills, knowledge, and abilities of nurses and their commitment to care delivery.
In providing care services during a disaster, it is essential to adhere to the principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and autonomy. The principle of beneficence requires nurses to provide care that yields positive outcomes to the patients. Nonmaleficence requires nurses and healthcare providers to provide care that causes no harm. The principle of autonomy gives the victims of disaster the authority to make decisions regarding their care. Additionally, justice requires nurses to provide fair and equal care to all the victims of disasters.
Assess patient's rights and the role of social media within the healthcare system.
Patients have the right to assess accurate and complete information regarding their health and healthcare in general. Healthcare providers have the duty to give patients access to full information regarding their health. Social media platforms empower patients to take an active role in their health as they provide them with an avenue to assess information and share their experiences with other people. Up to now, a lot of consumers of healthcare are e-patients who go online and visit social media sites to seek information regarding wellness, health, and specific diseases (Kanchan & Gaidhane, 2023). Worldwide, the use of social media is popular among younger adults but now, the elderly are beginning to catch up. Moreover, social media platforms provide tools that are necessary to transform groups in the communities.
References
Flaubert, J. L., Le Menestrel, S., Williams, D. R., Wakefield, M. K., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2021). Nurses in Disaster Preparedness and Public Health Emergency Response. In The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573904/
Kanchan, S., & Gaidhane, A. (2023). Social Media Role and Its Impact on Public Health: A Narrative Review. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9925030/