On Wednesday, Nov. 28 the Lee University School of Nursing (SON) will conduct a mass casualty emergency drill from 1-5 p.m. This will be an educational event that includes not only the SON, but the Athletic Training Department, communications (journalism) and drama departments, psychology department, and the School of Religion.

Students and faculty from across the Lee Campus will participate in a response to a tornado natural disaster for the theme of this semester’s drill. The drill is intended to help students learn how to provide an immediate response to treat a variety of medical conditions, as well as to minister to family and survivors experiencing psychological trauma.

“We are offering an interprofessional exercise this semester for students from various departments across campus to engage in a community response to a disaster within a controlled simulation,” said Dr. Brenda Jones, assistant professor of nursing. “The students will participate in a ‘real-life’ scenario guided by community professionals from the Bradley County Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security.”

According to Jones, this opportunity allows students to practice their clinical skills in response to a surge of patients coming into a healthcare facility for treatment of their injuries under accelerated stress levels. SON students will perform rapid assessment of the “simulated survivors” and “standardized survivors.”

“The School of Nursing continues to build on a strong curricular foundation of disaster response,” said Dr. Sara Campbell, SON dean and professor of nursing. “This simulation provides a unique and specialized interprofessional experience for our students.”

This is the fourth planned simulation that the SON has sponsored in the form of a mass casualty drill to help equip students on how to bring theory from the classroom into their practice according to their specific field of study.

The drill will take place in the SON building. During the drill there will be various emergency vehicles present around the building.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Relations at (423) 614-8621.