Trusted’s own Dr. Nurse Dan, PhD, RN gave a presentation to our nurses at the beginning of the pandemic back a few months ago in order to better prepare them for their potentially new crisis roles.
This was at the height of the spread in New York City (March-May 2020), and our goal was to provide resources for our Trusted Nurses while serving in their unprecedented pandemic roles.
First, it’s important to remember that working in the nursing profession is a public service, but it’s also a high-risk job during times like these. As President Abraham Lincoln once said:
“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”
And this is exactly what nurses and other frontline responders have had to do. While nursing is a field built on tradition, we’re working with ingenuity here; we have new challenges and new resources to combat a wholly new, or novel, threat.
As a Nurse in a Crisis Response Role, What Are Your Priorities?
Keep Yourself Safe
- At work, at home, and on your commute. If you aren’t safe, you can’t provide care, and no one is safe.
- Don’t ditch your routines: working out, checking in with family and friends, meal prep, whatever your usual routine entails, stick to it where possible.
- Make sure you have a decontamination routine when you get home from work (and always do it!)
- Look into malpractice insurance, for the protection of yourself and your patients.
- Make sure you’re familiar with PPE procedures in your facility, and follow them to the dot.
- Determine your limits: what you can and can’t do as a professional, and express those limits on the floor and to your manager.
Keep Your Patients Safe
- It’s why we’re here.
- Remember, you are your patient’s advocate, and there will definitely be hard decisions.
- Be brave and speak up even if its uncomfortable
Keep Your License Safe
- During times like this, there is a lot of hacking around the system, and policies get thrown out the window; make sure you and your team are not cutting the wrong corners.
- Ultimately, you are in charge of your own license, no one else.
- Be familiar with the Nurse Practice Act of the state you’ll be practicing in and review COVID resources for the state/city in question.
Trusted and How We’re Responding
- We are nurse first: your Nurse Advocate (and the company) is there for you.
- We built a COVID-19 resource page that includes changes on state licensure & policy, more nurse-specific COVID-19 resources, and social campaigns & partnerships
- 14-day quarantine pay for our nurses
For more nursing resources, tips and tricks, and access to your own Nurse Advocate, create a free Trusted profile.
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