Mass disasters are terrifying for everyone who is involved. As nurses, we hold the responsibility in becoming the backbone for the public in those unfortunate times. Our primary roles are to utilize our resources and quickly aid harmed patients as efficiently as possible. It is our ethical responsibility to care towards the patients and their safety while in our care. However, it is natural to also fear for your own safety. For example, a natural disaster occurs at the local hospital that I am working in. Theoretically, my first priority would be for my patients and their care. However, I might have family at home that I am highly concerned about as well. Not only that, but I might fear for my own safety. This plays into the ANA code of Ethics controversy. Provision 2 states that “the nurse’s primary responsibility is to the patient.” On the other hand, Provision 5 states that the nurse also owes the same duty to themself. As much as I can relate to Provision 5, I still feel that in a disaster, the utmost importance belongs to the communities safety. I believe that a good compromise should be utilized in order to bring a balance to the situation. As nurse’s we should dedicate our time and efforts to helping our patients. We should also be allowed time to rest after a certain period of working on patients. If a disaster lasts for multiple days, it is unfair for a singular nurse to be caring for patients with no rest or care for themselves. Therefore, if staffing ratios allow with the help of government support, I believe the best outcome is for nurses to be allotted breaks. This may not be possible in some cases, but I feel it would be the best scenario in terms of providing care for patients and providing care for yourself. Therefore, the best ethical context in a perfect world scenario would be to compromise between both ethical codes.

Code of ethics for Nurses. ANA. (2017, October 26). Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/