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HPU nursing and public health students participated in a Triennial Aircraft Disaster Exercise held at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
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HPU public health students volunteered to portray injured passengers in an aviation disaster.
A large group of HPU nursing and public health students participated in a Triennial Aircraft Disaster Exercise (TADE) held at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on October 20, 2023. The exercise was run by the state of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Airports Division.
A TADE exercise is a multi-agency realistic simulation of an aircraft emergency disaster. This includes a large plane crash from an international origin, an emergency response, fire suppression, rescue, evacuation, triage, transport, treatment, communications, media, multi-agency coordination, crisis management, reunification, and security protocols.
HPU nursing students had the opportunity to work together in trio teams of first responders.
“We are incredibly proud of our HPU students from the School of Nursing and Public Health. Their participation in the TADE exemplifies our commitment to experiential learning and teamwork. This invaluable experience equips them with the skills and knowledge needed for effective emergency response and crisis management in real-world scenarios,” said HPU Professor and Simulationist Jayne Smitten, Ph.D., MEd, CHSE-A, FSSH.
HPU’s nursing students, led by HPU Associate Professor Hazel Downing, RN, Ed.D., and Assistant Professor Leeah Javier, DNP, RN, had the opportunity to work together in ‘trio teams’ of first responders – assessing and treating simulated passengers alongside their nursing student colleagues from Chaminade Å·ÃÀAƬ and the Å·ÃÀAƬ of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, as well as emergency medical unit and fire department personnel, military, government, and non-government organizations. It was truly an interprofessional event.
HPU’s public health students volunteered to portray injured passengers in an aviation disaster, roleplaying as walking wounded and friends and family of the injured passengers. Moulage (special effect makeup used to portray mock injuries) was also used on the volunteers to simulate traumatic injuries- including impaled objects, shock, cuts, and burns.
The HPU TADE team was headed by Smitten, Downing, Javier, and Simulation Technician Bryson Sales. The simulation team and the nursing and public health students were in full force for this event, showed commitment for a great experiential simulation-based learning opportunity.
