ORU Nursing Students Hold Disaster Drill On Tulsa Campus

As nursing students, it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly what a real disaster would be like.  So Wednesday, Oral Roberts University's nursing students got the chance to take a dip into the real world.

"You go into it thinking you're fully prepared. You get in here, everything is going crazy. People are running around and pretty quickly it all just goes out the air," said ORU nursing student, Ryan Ward.

It looks real, but it's all part of a mock disaster situation at Oral Roberts University.

Senior nursing students in ORU's Anna Vaughn College of Nursing recreated the Indiana State Fair disaster, where a stage collapsed, killing 5 people and injuring 40 others.

It took place on campus early Wednesday in a field between the Learning Resources Center and Christ's Chapel.

"They have to learn that they can't save everybody, that they have to move on to those that are viable and so what we're trying to teach them to do is just really move from one to another and stabilize those that they can and just do the best they can in saving everybody that can be saved," said ORU nursing instructor Cherly Swanson.

With a little help from trained first responders, the ORU nursing students say this mock experience felt like the real deal.

"Life and death situations for people. You're able to see it first hand, you know. Seeing kids, you don't know if they need help. You think that they do. You got people that are in critical situations that they need it immediately. You got to make tough decisions," said Ryan Ward.

Swanson also hopes this activity will help the students understand that more training is a must.

AirEvac, Tulsa Police, Tulsa Fire, ORU Campus Police and area hospitals all assisted in this exercise.