Hu li za zhi The journal of nursing
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Disasters, natural and man made, devastate individuals and society through severe injury, death, property damage, public health problems, and later psychological issues. Emergency nurses are often the first professionals to arrive at the scene of a disaster incident. ⋯ The purposes of this article were to (1) describe concepts, knowledge and skills related to disaster nursing and (2) describe the disaster nursing experience and training content / protocol of emergency nurses working at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Taiwan. Issues related to training, work assignments, practical training, and staff management are also discussed.
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Disaster nursing is an essential competence for nurses today. Nurses must enhance their emergency treatment abilities and internalize evacuation and disaster-related concepts (time, resource, situation, and person) in order to deliver physical, psychological, social and spiritual holistic care to disaster victims and their families across the disaster stage continuum (i.e., before, impact, and after). ⋯ The current challenge for nurses is to reconsider their role and function, focusing on disaster preparedness and preparedness drills in order to serve as an immediate and effective resource and manager both in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and the following recovery / health promotion period. Recognition and preparedness of disaster nursing related concepts are crucial because nurses must be recognized for the essential role they play in global society.
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Comparative Study
[Postoperative pain: comparative differences between that reported by patients and nurses].
Pain management after surgery has long been ignored or managed inadequately. Pain assessment is the first and most important step toward adequate pain relief. While many studies have shown significant differences between pain reported by patients and that reported by care providers, little has been reported on this issue in Taiwan. ⋯ Nurses significantly underestimated patient pain, as compared to patient self-reporting. This demonstrates that most nurses do not query their patients about subjective pain perception. Study results recommend that pain assessment and communication should be added to the in-service training curriculum for staff in order to facilitate nurse communication of pain intensity using a numeric rating scale and patient self-report records. The objective should be to improve consistency between patient self-reporting on and nursing assessments of pain.