Thursday, September 26, 2002: 2:45 PM-4:15 PM | |||
The Changing Battlefront: Preparing Health Care Personnel for Civilian and Military Responses to Biochemical Terrorism | |||
| The shocking experiences of September 11, 2001 marked a watershed in our Nation's perception of disaster preparedness. Suddenly, war occurred on the homefront and not in some remote third world country. The lives of ordinary citizens, as well as soldiers, were now being lost in warlike attacks. September's events, including a postal system unwittingly used to transmit anthrax spores, enhanced the Nation's attentiveness to homeland defense and protection of the public from weapons of biochemical terrorism. All over the country, health care professionals gave disaster and biochemical defense preparedness a very high priority status. Even before September 11th, a report published in the American Journal of Public Health (May 2001) found very low levels of readiness in response to biochemical terrorism after surveying 186 civilian hospitals. Only 16.7% of the hospitals had plans for responding to the use of chemical weapons, and only 11.8% were ready in response to the use of biological weapons. The purpose of this symposium is to highlight current research, conducted by military nurses, both active and reserve, who have been dealing with issues of biochemical defense and patient care for many years. The symposium represents a dramatic effort to offer expertise and support to the larger community of nurses who are presently developing programs to train and educate health care personnel in caring for victims of biochemical terrorism. The symposium will offer four very relevant studies, presenting a wide range of state of the science knowledge, suitable for all major areas of nursing interest. Among the four researchers participating in this symposium is a military nurse working with an interdisciplinary team of bench researchers. He will present a study involving viruses that may be used as potential bioterrorist weapons. Effects of these bioweapons on the neuro-immune systems of animal models emphasize the need for all nurses to become increasingly familiar with biologicals potentially used as weapons of mass destruction. All of the literature today is pointing toward early recognition and treatment of possible bioterrorism. The enhanced preparation of both civilian and military nurses will increase their confidence in responding quickly to plan appropriate nursing care, treat victims, and prevent further spread of highly infectious diseases. Lessons learned from past wars will be presented in a second study. Chemicals, such as Agent Orange, were used as defoliants in Vietnam to uncover enemy hiding places. This study examined the effects of such chemicals in exposed military women stationed throughout Vietnam. The Vietnam veterans' data were compared with two other cohort groups, military women never stationed in Vietnam but serving during the same historical time frame, and civilian women who practiced nursing during that time frame. This investigation represents a unique assessment of health problems related directly to chemical warfare and emphasizes the need for ongoing attention to planning the care of chemical war victims who may present to U.S. hospitals following a homeland attack. Thus far, most of the literature published today focuses on biological terrorism, but the use of lethal chemicals continues to exist as a strong terrorist threat. The third and fourth studies involve research with personnel learning to work in biochemically- contaminated environments. One study involves health care personnel who provide patient care while wearing cumbersome protective clothing, masks, gloves, and boots. The bulky, uncomfortable clothing presents unique challenges to the delivery of patient care because it hampers the use of human senses for assessing and treating patients, and the gear restricts movement, especially the fine motor skills required to provide care. Teaching/learning methods and the practice of intravenous insertion (IV) while wearing protective gear were examined to determine the most effective means for success with IV insertion. Protective clothing also presents health hazards to the wearers. In another study, personnel working long hours in biochemical protective gear were provided with various types of fluids for hydration. These fluids were examined for their enhancement of physiological outcomes, and the most effective hydration measures were reported. Following the presentation of research, a review and synthesis of current nursing knowledge, as well as an identification of future needs for nursing research, will be presented by a military nurse who works directly with an organization devoted to homeland security. The symposium and its offerings will be of interest to many nurses because the September 11th events demonstrated that, in the future, both military and civilian nurses will be providing patient care on the changing homeland battlefront and everyone must be prepared. | |||
| Organizer: | Christine A. Wynd, RN, PhD, CNAA, professor of Nursing | ||
| The Pathophysiology of Potential Viral Bioterrorist Weapons and Neuro-Immune Responses Bruce A. Schoneboom, PhD, CRNA, (Major, USA), director, Phase II, Graduate Program in Anesthesia Nursing, Leslie McKinney, PhD, Franziska B. Grieder, DVM, PhD | |||
| Biochemical Lessons Learned from Past Wars: Health Problems of US Military Women Exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam Linda A. Schwartz, RN, DrPH, FAAN, associate research scientist/scholar | |||
| A Virtual Reality Simulator: Preparing Health Care Personnel for Providing Care to Victims of Biochemical Terrorism Janice B. Griffin Agazio, RN, DNSc, CPNP, (LTC, Ret, USA), assistant professor, Constance Pavlides, RN, DNSc, DAC, researcher, Caterina E.M. Lasome, MAJ, AN, researcher, Norma J. Flaherty, RN, BSN, graduate student, Rebecca Torrance, RN, MSN, researcher | |||
| The Effects of a Power Drink vs. Water on Hydration During Training in Biochemical Protective Gear Arthur Don Johnson, RN, PhD, associate professor, Joseph Schmelz, PhD, associate professor | |||
The Advancing Nursing Practice Excellence: State of the Science