News

On March 23, 2013 at 0915 hours, a major motor vehicle accident occurred on Barrington Street in Halifax, and so began the mock disaster staged by the School of Nursing.  In the scenario, a tour bus collided with a tanker truck that was carrying an unknown substance and many vehicles were involved in the crash.  Unbeknownst to the bystanders and those that offered assistance to the injured, they were exposing themselves to a harmful pesticide.  Several Dalhousie Nursing students were involved in responding to this mass casualty disaster simulation.  Students enrolled in Nursing 2390: Emergency Preparedness: A Nursing Perspective, played the role of various health care professionals while other students in the Nursing program were part of the psychological assessment team or one of the 75 casualties that arrived and the Halifax Infirmary Emergency Room for treatment, and if required, contamination.  School of Nursing faculty member Professor Shelley Cobbett sustained several injuries, most notably an open fracture of the tibia and the fibula in the crash, but was well taken care of by nursing students Kristen Bloom, Jason Bond and Emma Dawe.

As well as being treated for serious injuries, several of the casualties had to be decontaminated, providing an opportunity for Halifax to practice its emergency plan for decontamination.  This was the first mock disaster in Canada to occur in a real hospital emergency room.  The nursing students who participated were great ambassadors for Dalhousie University, displaying professionalism, compassion, caring and competent triage, and disaster management skills.

During the exercise, it became apparent that many of the nursing students possess a theatrical flair - Duane MacLead (Yarmouth DUNS President) played the dual roles of an injured victim as well as a person suffering from schizophrenia - adding a little chaos to the ER deparment in the aftermath of the disaster. The organizers of the event would like to thank the students, family members and friends who attended and helped to make the mock disaster a success.  Thanks also go out to the School of Nursing for providing funding through the New Ventures Fund which enabled distance students to travel to Halifax to participate in the event, and to Scott Munn for photography.