Frontline Nurses
What have you learned from the frontlines of fighting the coronavirus that you most want policy makers, health care administrators and your bosses to know? If you were in charge, what is the first thing you would change to ensure we never go through this again?
THE FINAL REPORT IS AVAILABLE ABOVE IN THE NAVIGATION BAR
|
Responses
Nation Reliant on HCW to Take on Enormous Personal Burden - Beware the Future of Nursing
What I most want policy makers, health care administrators, and my bosses to understand is the untenable nature of the immense personal burden that we are relying on healthcare workers, including nurses, to take in the absence of resources, infrastructure, policies, and support. We consistently lack: adequate PPE, adequate staff, adequate mental health resources, adequate risk management resources including alternate options for housing or childcare, adequate testing for the community and for HCW with sufficiently fast turnaround time, adequate screening for employees/visitors, adequate safety measures/infection control practices at work, adequate policies for keeping sick or potentially sick HCW at home…
Read the Full Response
(6) |
Still Issues With PPE
Hi Everyone,
I apologize it has been a while since I last checked in. I wanted to share what I have been able to gather through colleagues, and personal experience. It is now July 9, 2020. From accounts in various healthcare and public health settings, PPE supply remains a challenge. I have spent the last 3 days, trying to obtain either real N-95's or purchase a 3M Respirator, that is plastic, reusable and relies on filters or cartridges to protect me. I can not find any of this equipment anywhere i have looked. I contacted 3M…
(0) |
Registered Nurse
Let the staff wear ppe if they feel they need to. We should never have to justify a situation in which we feel the need to protect ourselves. Ever. Especially with a disease that no one knew and still knows nothing about how to fight or protect against. If we are going to save lives, personally I dont need to be called a hero or be thanked. I want to feel protected and supported. And that was not the case from day 1.
Read the Full Response(0) |
RN MSN MS
I am currently on maternity leave, but was working on a surgical trauma ICU. I am most concerned with the lack of communication between nurses and management as well as the economics of the hospital as a business. With hospitals generally run by administrators that have no front line experience there is little respect and voice that nurses have. The nurses in administrative roles are faced with adhering to metrics and analysis of PPE equipment use and the like without advocating for the well being of staff nurses. A previous hospital I used to work on punished nurses for using…
Read the Full Response(1) |
James B.
Moderator Pick
RN, MSN, Pt. Safety Specialist
Do not forget those who are vicariously traumatized.
Mandate de-stressing and debriefing sessions for all HCWs with a minimum number of contact hours per month as part of license renewal. Time in session should be compensated by employer. (OSHA has various requirements for similar situations that mandate employer responsibilities when employee is exposed to known hazards and this pandemic should be considered an known hazard)
(1) |