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Resilience of Nurses in the Face of Disaster

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2015

Stephanie B. Turner Open the ORCID record for Stephanie B. Turner [Opens in a new window]
Stephanie B. Turner*
Affiliation:
University of Alabama, Capstone College of Nursing, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Stephanie B. Turner, EdD, MSN, RN, Box 870358, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0358 (e-mail: Turne102@ua.edu).
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Abstract

Objective

On April 27, 2011, the state of Alabama encountered a horrific day of tornados that left a trail of damage throughout the state. The city of Tuscaloosa was devastated by an EF-4 that resulted in many victims and casualties. Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa had a massive inflow of victims with both mild and major injuries. When disasters such as this occur, nurses must respond with efficiency and effectiveness to help as many victims as possible. However, little is known about the psychological effects of disasters on nurses and how these impact nurses both personally and professionally. Because resilience can directly impact how a nurse responds to a situation, this article aimed to examine the resilience levels of nurses working during the disaster.

Methods

This study was part of a larger study examining the needs of nurses both before and after disasters. Ten nurses were interviewed and completed a 10-item survey on resilience, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). The full range of scores on this scale is from 0 to 40, with higher scores reflecting greater resilience.

Results

In this survey of 10 nurses, the scores ranged from 33 to 40, with a mean score of 36.7.

Conclusions

The nurses who were interviewed and completed the survey possessed a high level of resilience. More research should be done on the causes of increased resilience in nurses after disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:601–604)

Keywords

emergency nursingdisastersdisaster medicinedisaster planningemergency responders
Type
Brief Reports
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 6 , December 2015 , pp. 601 - 604
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

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