Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Response, and Injury Management
Prepare, respond, recover
OHNs are central to workplace emergency preparedness. Know the all-hazards approach and the incident command system (ICS), including the nurse's likely role in planning, triage, first aid, and liaison. Understand the emergency operations plan (EOP), evacuation and shelter-in-place, drills, and after-action review.
Clinical response
Master triage principles (sort by acuity and resource needs), mass casualty concepts, and first aid for life threats: airway, breathing, circulation, hemorrhage control, and shock. Know bloodborne pathogen exposure response: immediate washing, reporting, source evaluation, and post-exposure prophylaxis per protocol. Understand heat and cold emergencies, chemical exposures (decontamination before treatment), and respiratory protection in response.
Disaster phases
Mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Recognize psychological first aid and the nurse's own stress management. Know that in disasters, documentation and resource allocation shift but ethical duties remain.
Traps
Questions test whether you decontaminate before treating a chemically exposed worker, whether you know that triage in mass casualty prioritizes the greatest good (not first-come), and whether you correctly identify the nurse's role in ICS (a defined position, not freelancing). Another trap: skipping reporting after a needlestick.
Rule of thumb
In any emergency: protect yourself first (PPE), then the scene, then the worker. You cannot rescue if you become a casualty.