Lessons in disaster: the Boston Marathon bombing

The events of a disaster and its aftermath often focus on what the doctors and nurses did to treat the victims. The ancillary departments, such as radiology, also play a very important role. Staff participate in drills routinely to prepare for such events, and had just recently participated in one with mass casualties, but the sheer volume was beyond the scope of comprehension. Everyone worked as quickly as possible in getting quality images for the physician staff. For future disasters, counselors need to be available to the staff quicker, and a debriefing session specific to radiology is necessary right away. Any disaster has a beginning and an end for the event itself, but the reverberations continue long after and staff need to be prepared for that.