Are We Really Prepared? Lessons Learned from Nurses Responding to the September 11th Attack

The threat of terrorism poses long-range challenges to our society and demands an evaluation of the range of issues in which the discipline of nursing will play a critical role. Response to disaster situations, contribution to disaster planning, and management of the psychological response to disaster situations are all critical issues related to terrorism that will require specific nursing contribution. Very few studies have looked at the impact of disasters on the discipline of nursing. This research utilized hermeneutic phenomenology to examine the lived experiences of nurses who cared for victims of the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. Of particular interest was the experience of shared vulnerability between patient/victim and caregiver. Hermeneutic phenomenology and the philosophy of Gadamer served as the guiding framework.

Purposive, snowball sampling was used to identify nurses who were eligible to participate by virtue of having cared for victims of the attack on September 11^th or in the days immediately following. In-depth interviews were conducted with each study participant using an unstructured interview format. Data analysis included close readings of the text followed by interpretive analysis to identify themes and patterns. Finally, the data were considered as a whole, including investigator reflection on both the analytical and interpretive readings in order to best understand the findings. Final analysis of the data revealed four major themes: Life Changing Experience, The Importance of Collegiality to Creating New Meaning and Reducing  Caregiver Perceived Vulnerability, Critical Nursing Functions for Supporting The Vulnerable, and Shaping Nursing’s Future to Care for Both Vulnerable Caregivers and Patients. The findings from this study have implication to nursing practice, policy, education, and research. Future research recommendations are offered.