Tag: acute and critical care nursing

DUQUE DE CAXIAS,(BRAZIL),MAY,20,2020: doctors take care of patients with covid-19 and an intensive care unit (ICU) at hospital são josé specialized in the treatment of covid-19.

From Pain to Progress: Nursing After the Pandemic

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By Victoria L. Tiase and William M. Sage

America’s nurses are a powerful force for good — four million strong, universally trusted, increasingly diverse, serving every community across the country, with an overall economic impact greater than the total output of the median American state. However, the pain of pandemic nursing is real and widespread. Urgent attention to nursing’s vulnerabilities is required for the profession to help the U.S. emerge from the confluence of the worst public health crisis in over a century and the most severe economic decline since the Great Depression.

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hospital equipment

How COVID-19 Has Widened the Experience-Complexity Gap in Nursing

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By Julie Miller

I am a Clinical Practice Specialist for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), and I have noticed the experience-complexity gap widening during the pandemic. As increasing numbers of nurses retire due to the stress of serving on the front lines, novice nurses are tasked with complex caseloads.

Hospital-based educators tell me they do not have enough experienced nurses to oversee and mentor the novice nurses due to attrition, as experienced nurses are taking advantage of high paying travel contracts, or are leaving the ICU/PCU specialty due to burnout, moral injury, and post-traumatic stress.

Post-pandemic, the experience-complexity gap for progressive and critical care nurses will continue to widen and affect intensive care unit (ICU) and progressive care unit (PCU) orientation and ongoing education.

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Sisaket,Thailand,09 April 2019;Medical staff wearing face shield and medical mask for protect coronavirus covid-19 virus in CT scan room,Sisaket province,Thailand,ASIA.

The Future of Acute and Critical Care Nursing

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By Sarah A. Delgado

We need to change the future for nurses. Even before the pandemic, nurses suffered high rates of burnout and a disproportionate risk of suicide. But the pandemic could be a tipping point that leads many nurses to change careers, leave their jobs, or retire early.

Moral distress, the consequence of feeling constrained from taking ethical action, was well-documented before the pandemic, particularly among critical care nurses providing end-of-life care. Additional research conducted before 2020 demonstrates that nurses were experiencing post-traumatic stress due to the suffering they witnessed and the demands of their work.

During the pandemic, surges in critically ill patients have led to untenable workloads. The distress of end-of-life care is heightened by restrictions on visitation and increased mortality rates. In addition, shortages of basic personal protective equipment contribute to fear and a sense of betrayal.

While the pre-pandemic state of the nursing profession was concerning, the pandemic creates imminent peril.

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