Covid 19: A community based nursing disaster response.

Nursing has been criticized for inconsistent and episodic attention to disaster response training in academic settings. The work described herein demonstrates that nursing was not only prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic but was able to mobilize and lead a large-scale response that benefited a university community and the larger surrounding communities and neighborhoods paying particular attention to marginalized populations. For healthcare providers outside of hospitals, it was clear that disaster response methods would need to be implemented. The authors demonstrate that nursing established an on-the-ground response in collaboration with other University officials and departments. Initially established for the University community, the response was moved into surrounding neighborhoods vaccinating the city's most vulnerable. The nurse led effort answered more than 25,000 Hotline telephone calls, collected more than 30,000 COVID-19 molecular tests, and administered more than 150,000 COVID-19 vaccines in an operation that served up to 2500 people a day for 5 months. Nurses saved thousands of lives at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in hospitals and in community-based settings. The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio School of Nursing demonstrated the nimble nature of academic nursing and outlines a large-scale community response to an international pandemic in the seventh-largest United States city. The authors establish guidelines for nurses and others to follow for future events.

Designing, implementing, and conducting a web-based radiation safety training program to meet Texas standards for radiation protection.

The implementation of a web-based radiation safety training program for a large biomedical research institution has the capability of increasing the knowledge of proper use of radionuclides in the laboratories in a more cost effective and efficient way of demonstrating this material. The design and implementation of the web-based course for the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio must meet Texas radioactive material regulations while ensuring that the content engages and challenges the student's health physics knowledge. The implementation of this course required updating the existing course to reflect current regulatory requirements for radiation safety training, emergency response, and biological effects risk coefficients. The final web-based radiation safety training program was evaluated by a standard examination that it is equivalent to the knowledge gained in the classroom course. The results of the scores for the standard examination were equivalent for both the classroom and the web-based course. However, the web-based version with 1 h in the classroom has saved 5,407 h total throughout the institution.

Determining the applicability of the Landauer nanoDot as a general public dosimeter in a research imaging facility.

The Research Imaging Institute (RII) building at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) houses two cyclotron particle accelerators, positron emission tomography (PET) machines, and a fluoroscopic unit. As part of the radiation protection program (RPP) and meeting the standard for achieving ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable), it is essential to minimize the ionizing radiation exposure to the general public through the use of controlled areas and area dose monitoring. Currently, thirty-four whole body Luxel+ dosimeters, manufactured by Landauer, are being used in various locations within the RII to monitor dose to the general public. The intent of this research was to determine if the nanoDot, a single point dosimeter, can be used as a general public dosimeter in a diagnostic facility. This was tested by first verifying characteristics of the nanoDot dosimeter including dose linearity, dose rate dependence, angular dependence, and energy dependence. Then, the response of the nanoDot dosimeter to the Luxel+ dosimeter when placed in a continuous, low dose environment was investigated. Finally, the nanoDot was checked for appropriate response in an acute, high dose environment. Based on the results, the current recommendation is that the nanoDot should not replace the Luxel+ dosimeter without further work to determine the energy spectra in the RII building and without considering the limitation of the microStar reader, portable on-site OSL reader, at doses below 0.1 mGy (10 mrad).