In the event of a man made or natural disaster, nurses play a key role in the management of these situations. Nurses are responsible for evaluating/treating injured patients and are also responsible for transporting these patients to safety or other medical facilities. Decisions must be made quickly as often disasters result in a loss of power, equipment and other necessary tools to provide proper care. These choices nurses must make can be life or death which makes it important to have a plan in place and to be trained for these situations.

The ANA Code of Ethics states that a nurse’s primary responsibility is to the patient. The Code also states that a nurse owes the same duty to themselves. As this relates to disaster nursing, we must still be placing the patient as our top priority. As the first provision in the ANA code of ethics states, the nurse must practice with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person. A nurse should never put themselves above a patient unless they themselves have been injured severely from the disaster or are in extreme danger. Nurses must have respect for patients dignity and worth. Disasters can be extremely unique situations and nurses must be prepared to do anything to protect patient lives.