Are you prepared?
A summary of three things I learnt from the article
Disaster preparedness
In a mass causality event, a nurse must be prepared for it, regardless of his or her expertise in the field or whether its as a result of natural disasters or terrorism activities. Therefore for the nurse to be utterly prepared, must get educated on her role and also teach others (S. Smith, 2010). The nurse must develop a personal and family disaster plan, having a disaster kit and also practicing the plan so as to care efficiently for others in a disaster event without having to get worried about his family and other responsibilities. Other methods of preparedness include the nurse availing himself within a short time notice and this is by assembling a bag with emergency cash periods of stays and that bag should be kept in a place where it can be easily accessed such as in the car.
Being organized
The hospital facilities must be informed ahead of the victims being admitted at the hospital so that the hospital facility can start preparing for the admission. This helps the hospital to free beds for the patients to be admitted. However, the patients or causalities must be tagged using the appropriate color tag with an indication of the emergency level of the patient. The purpose of the tagging is to facilitate the assessment, triage and transportation of the casualty. Also knowing in advance the condition of the causalities helps the hospital in knowing the methods of accommodation and treatment.

Advancing nursing knowledge
Since the need for nurses is increasing with the changing world, nurses need to increase their knowledge in the field by enrolling in nursing courses some of which are offered free of charge. This can help in eliminating the use of unfamiliar acronyms in disaster management and get to know their roles in management of disaster (Thomas, 2001). During training the nurses get to learn much about disaster management as they are taken through table-top exercises which make it clear their role and also point out problems regarding the disaster management’s command structure and communication skills among other logistics. When the nurses are taken through drills during training, they get to know what they are expected to do in real life situations.
Reactions and reflections to the article
The article puts it in layman terms the things that the nurses are expected to do and also gives ample exams where nurses can get to learn and advance their knowledge in the field. Such examples are given in the form of websites, articles and journals. The article has shed light that it is not merely those who are experts in the filed of nursing that can take part in disaster management, but anyone regardless of his or her expertise in the field (Ann, 2006). The article soberly pipes the need for disaster management lessons because of “our changing world and the importance of nurses in disaster response”.
The article aptly puts it that disasters can happen anywhere, even at home, and therefore the need for even those who aren’t in the nursing field, knowing the basics of disaster management such as creating awareness and teaching even the small children emergency management like when and how to call emergency number 911; and showing everyone how to shut off the supply of electricity, water and gas in the main switches. The article enlightens us on the need of insuring the property to ensure that there are no heavy losses that are incurred when such disasters happen. For first time learners of the importance of both the nurses and their important role in the management of disaster, we learnt the basics of disaster management which we can apply in disaster situations.
The article teaches us that some disasters can be avert or managed if the basics of the disaster management are learnt such as shutting off the supply of gas, electricity and water which could contribute to disasters such as fire outbreaks.
The article has taught us the advantages of being on the safe side by having a disaster management fully assembled kit which can save valuable time when attending to disaster causalities. Much about the importance of disaster management can be learnt such as how some items such as documents can be saved by storing them in secure places such as water proof or fire proof safes; making escapes routes in the rooms of home and securing cash in secure places rather than in the banks and ATM’s since these two may not be reliable as they may be out of operations in times of great need.
So as to help the hospital facility prepare for the admission of the casualty in advance, the article has pointed out the need for tagging.
The article put taught the importance of nurses treating the information with confidentiality and its sensitivity and the need of keeping it away from other people outside the workplace to avert rumors and speculations that could lead to spread of panic.

References
Ann, M.-T. (2006). Nursing theorists and their work. Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Thomas, S. (2001). Disaster management and preparedness. New York: Lewis Publishers.
S.Smith. (2010). Are You Prepared. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from WWW.nursing2010.com: http://journals.lww.com/nursing/Citation/2010/04000/Mass_casualty_events___Are_you_prepared_.16.aspx