Pathophysiology
Clinical meaning
Disaster preparedness in nursing encompasses planning for and responding to natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, wildfires), technological disasters (chemical spills, radiation accidents), and intentional events (terrorism, mass shootings). The disaster management cycle includes mitigation (reducing impact), preparedness (planning and training), response (immediate actions during event), and recovery (returning to normal). Triage in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) uses the START system: Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment categorizes victims by color tags: red (immediate - life-threatening but salvageable), yellow (delayed - significant injury but can wait), green (minor - walking wounded), and black (expectant - deceased or unsalvageable). This differs from emergency department triage where the sickest patients receive care first regardless of resource constraints. In MCIs, the goal shifts from doing the most for each individual to doing the greatest good for the greatest number. Nurses must understand their facility's emergency operations plan (EOP), their role in the incident command system (ICS), and personal emergency preparedness.