A team of students from the Master of Nursing Program at Universitas Gadjah Mada (PSMK UGM) was directly involved in the flood disaster response in North Aceh Regency in late November 2025. Their involvement was part of the deployment of the Emergency Medical Team of UGM’s Academic Health System (EMT AHS UGM), which collaborated with a network of hospitals and local health offices. The team’s presence was expected to strengthen basic health services and support disaster response coordination in the affected areas.
In this humanitarian mission, two PSMK UGM students specializing in Emergency and Disaster Nursing, Hamka Abdi Kusuma and Berliando Toro Betty Runesi, were deployed alternately as part of the EMT AHS UGM team. The team’s assignments included supporting health services at referral hospitals, community health centers, and evacuation shelters.
In addition to providing medical care, the team also contributed to strengthening the regional health disaster management system. Kusuma explained that the dynamic conditions in the field demanded high levels of preparedness and adaptability from all personnel involved.
“In the field, we do not only focus on clinical services, but also ensure that referral systems and coordination function properly so that residents’ health needs can be addressed,” he said on Wednesday (Feb. 4).
During the mission, the team faced various challenges, including limited electricity and clean water, and disrupted access to evacuation sites due to flooding.
Kusuma, who served on the second team and assisted physicians as a nurse, noted that such conditions required rapid decision-making and cross-professional collaboration to ensure services continued. The experience became an important learning process in disaster nursing practice in real-life situations.
“These limitations actually trained us to be more responsive, think critically, and work as a cohesive team amid emergency conditions,” he said.
Beyond direct health services, Kusuma and Runesi’s involvement also served as an implementation of community service–based learning. The students participated in the health response command system, cross-sector coordination, and field data management and reporting. Hamka said this process provided contextual experience that could not be obtained in the classroom.
“We learned how disaster management theories are applied in real situations, from decision-making to field reporting,” Kusuma explained.
In the third deployment batch, Runesi joined the disaster response management team. Runesi assisted in activating the Health Emergency Operation Center (HEOC) of the North Aceh Health Office, including situation mapping, EMT resource data collection, and coordination of health teams in the field. This role was crucial to ensuring that the health response was conducted in a structured manner.
“Assisting the HEOC gave us a comprehensive picture of how the regional health system operates during a crisis,” Runesi explained.
Runesi also accompanied health service teams at the Lhok Puuk Kadus Barat evacuation site, which was isolated due to damaged road access. The team had to travel by fishermen’s boats to reach the coastal area. Despite weather risks and logistical limitations, health services continued to be delivered to the community.
“Difficult access should never be a reason to halt services, because people in isolated areas are the ones who most need health assistance,” he said.
The involvement of UGM Master of Nursing students in the North Aceh flood disaster response demonstrates the role of higher education institutions in supporting health crisis management.
This field experience strengthened students’ competencies in emergency and disaster nursing while directly contributing to affected communities. Through this mission, UGM continues to promote learning that prioritizes humanitarian values and real needs on the ground.
“This experience has become valuable capital for us to continue contributing to disaster response efforts in the future,” Runesi concluded.
Reportage/Documentation: Hamka Abdi Kusuma
Author: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Jasmine Ferdian