N479 Professional Activity Evaluation Form

Your Name: Duncan Shaw Date of Activity: 9/23/17 & 9/30/17 Faculty name: Beverly Bias

Describe the community service/professional activity/s you attended or participated with

(be specific about the purpose and your role):

On 9/23/17, I participated in the Sound the Alarm, Save-a-Life event held by the

American Red Cross of Southern Arizona. We were assigned to groups of three people to install

10-year smoke alarms to low-income members of the community. One person from our group

installed the smoke alarms. Another person completed paperwork and documentation. My

specific purpose was to educate people and their families on the importance of smoke alarms. I

taught the importance of testing each smoke alarm within the residence one a month. I also

taught the importance of having an escape plan and staying low in the event of a fire. On

9/30/17, I participated in the Emergency Civilian Casualty Care Training course at the American

Red Cross of Southern Arizona. My specific role was to be educated and gain insight on what to

do in the unlikely event of a mass shooting. We were taught the run, hide, fight technique if

ever confronted with an active shooter. We were also taught how to medically care for casualties

of mass shootings such as triage and the proper use of tourniquets.

Where was this held and what was was program/activity length?

On 9/23/17 the Save-a-Life smoke alarm event started at the American Red Cross of

Southern Arizona. Our team then went out into the community to install smoke alarms and

educate people on their importance. We spent nearly four hours at a mid-town, low-income

apartment complex. We installed over fifty smoke alarms that morning. On 9/30/17, I spent

nearly four hours in an education seminar at the American Red Cross of Southern Arizona on
Broadway. This seminar was presented by Dr. Sheldon Marks of the Medical Reserve Corps of

Southern Arizona and focused on mass-casualty training.

Discuss the value of this experience to you (be specific).

The smoke alarm experience was extremely valuable to me. I needed a refresher on the

importance of smoke alarms and having an escape plan. More importantly, I found it a humbling

experience to help and educate people on the importance of fire safety. It felt great helping and

providing service to the less-fortunate people of our community and not expecting anything in

return. Lastly, these people were grateful for our service that day. I honestly feel that we made a

difference. Most of the people thanked us and for some, it was the highlight of their day. I also

valued the mass-casualty training seminar on 9/30/17. I hope that I never have to experience a

mass-shooting. Unfortunately, these events are occurring with alarming frequency. I feel that the

training we received that day will be very useful in the unlikely event of a mass-casualty event.

Would you recommend this specific communnity/professional experience in the future; why
or why not? (Describe)

I would recommend both of these community/professional experiences in the future.

Helping others and providing service to people with misfortune is in my blood. That is why I

became a nurse in the first place. Giving freely of myself to the community and not expecting

anything back is important to me. I cant explain it, it just feels good! With respect to the mass-

casualty training, I would recommend this experience. This course was a great refresher for what

to do and what not to do in an active shooter event. The course taught me a few things that I

didnt know and reminded me of several things that I had forgotten about. Nursing requires

constant education and keeping up with evidence-based practices. As nurses, we have a

responsibility to the public to stay on top of our game and engage with the community.