Mock disaster at Siena Heights University teaches nursing students how to assess injuries
ADRIAN — Siena Heights University’s Adrian campus was the scene of a mock disaster simulation Oct. 27 that saw more than 20 trained bicyclists involved in a mass collision and pileup.
Luckily, for those cyclists who were “injured” during the educational scenario — titled “Tour de Sienna” — athletic trainers, Siena Heights nursing students and local emergency personnel were close by and responded to the situation.
The simulation was conducted twice on Oct. 27, with one session in the morning and a second session in the afternoon to facilitate participation for all nursing students, said Neysa Stacey, nursing instructor at Siena Heights University. “Tour de Sienna” was presented by SHU’s Division of Nursing and Health Sciences. It was held to help junior nursing students in the achievement of certain course outcomes. There are a total of 17 students enrolled in the university’s nursing department.
“All was going great with the race until a cyclist lost control causing a 25-bike pile-up,” a summary of the mock disaster said.
Those nearby athletic trainers, emergency personnel and Siena Heights nursing students were able to assess, triage and treat those involved in the crash, including Stacey, who was among the injured bicyclists. She had a “crushing” neck injury from the collision that impacted her ability to breathe, she said.
“One of the things about being a nurse is they have a duty to respond to an emergency when first responders are not readily available,” Stacey said. “This was a really good exercise for our students because they kind of stumbled upon the disaster and did not have a lot of tools available to them.”
The mock disaster involved hands-on work from the nursing students who met with the victims of the bike collision and treated them as if they were actually experiencing injuries from such an event. Actors in the scenario had differing levels of injuries and were tagged as such with colored labels that the nursing students knew described their injury’s severity.
A lot of the victims were Siena Heights staff. Makeup applied to them to resemble cuts and bruises was provided by students enrolled in the university’s theater department.
Some of the victims only required attention and treatment there on campus, while others were in need of immediate transportation and treatment at a hospital.
Siena Heights’ campus security, the Adrian Fire Department and the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office participated in the exercise. Students were even able to phone in a live 911 call to Lenawee County Central Dispatch.
“A lot of the kids haven’t ever had to call 911 for a real emergency. Thank goodness,” Stacey said.
When paramedics arrived on scene, the nursing students had to give a report on their patients, relaying such information as symptoms, severity of the injury and vital signs.
The stress level of the disaster ended up becoming a lot more realistic, Stacey said, because of the number of onlookers who gathered around campus. The university issued a campuswide notification alerting students and staff that the scenario was simply a mock disaster. It was held on the front grounds of the Patricia A. Erickson Enrollment and Welcome Center.
The overall goal of the mock disaster, Stacey said, was not for the nursing students to feel bad about their performance of treating victims but for them to see value in their role as nurses and how important the profession is.
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As nursing instructor, Stacey, who graduated from SHU in 2018 with her bachelor’s degree and in 2021 with her master’s, said she teaches the students how to prioritize the urgency of needs pertaining to their patients during their clinical training. She was hired by Siena Heights as a nursing instructor almost immediately after graduation.
As juniors, the students in the nursing department are still getting into the bulk of their education, she said. The nursing program starts when they are sophomores. A student’s freshman year is mostly comprised of general education, followed by nursing specific and hands-on classes.
By the time the students are juniors, they are learning about care with patients in clinical settings. Siena Heights has a simulation lab for its nursing students with mannequins that simulate a real person. While the mannequin is helpful, Stacey said, nothing provides the same level of learning for a student as field and clinical training.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Mock disaster teaches Siena nursing students how to assess injuries
