Nursing is ‘the cornerstone of health care’ during pandemic
Nurses work in the front lines, dealing with the challenges presented by COVID-19. They have the knowledge and skills necessary to respond to this public health emergency.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic the outlook on nursing as a profession is as positive as it has always been,” said Elda Ramirez, PhD, ENP-C, professor of nursing and head of the emergency/trauma nurse practitioner program at Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth in Houston.
Ramirez said that nursing is the cornerstone of healthcare whether it is testing patients, evaluating them in the emergency department (ED) or keeping them alive in the ICU.
“Specifically, in the ED, the nurses have been the first to adapt to the new model of practice. They have been faced with the fear of exposure and bringing the virus home yet have never faltered,” said Ramirez. “We have abraded our faces and washed our hands more times than can be counted. We have been the only ones able to talk to and comfort our patients in this time of social distancing. We don’t like to be considered heroes because our careers are based on the only constant being change. Sadly, nursing is being affected dramatically by the hit health care systems are taking with the abrupt alteration in revenue streams related to non-acute health care needs. Many nurses and nurse practitioners have been furloughed or have had their hours reduced. The areas in which nurses are being utilized are testing centers, emergency departments and intensive care areas.”
When asked what incentives hospitals are offering to attract top talent, Ramirez said that many hospital systems offer internships for onboarding nurses. These internships specialize in areas such as medicalsurgical nursing, emergency intensive care, and women’s health. Through the internships the onboarding rotates the nurse though different areas and identify fit and educate to the systems culture in parallel. Another incentive is offering bonuses to nurses who recruit.
“The profession has received an enormous amount of support during this time from the general public and has appealed to those individuals who have a desire to help others and support society during times of great upheaval. This support has come from local, regional, and national levels. It has taken all levels of acute care nursing to accomplish caring for this population, from our emergency centers, through acute care, critical care, and post-acute care (rehab, skilled nursing, etc.),” said Catherine Giegerich, VP & Chief Nursing Officer, Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Medical Center. “The COVID-19 pandemic has not materially changed the short-term outlook for the nursing profession. We continue to have a need for baccalaureate-level nurses just entering the profession and those with general and specialized experience, as well as with leadership experience.”
Giegerich said that in the acute care arena, nurses are needed across the continuum of care. Traditionally, new nurses enter the profession in the medical-surgical areas and move into “specialty” areas such as emergency centers, ICUs, and procedural areas.
“Historically, the most difficult to recruit include emergency department nurses; critical care nurses; and procedural nurses (operating room; cath lab; interventional radiology; etc.). With the bulk of our nursing pipeline currently in new graduates, it places a premium on specialty nurses,” said Giegerich. “The pandemic has not necessarily impacted those needs, only magnified them. Therefore, the specialty areas are the areas that need our focus at this time. Specialty nursing areas, nursing support roles, case management, and home health nurses are all in high demand.”
Giegerich said that at Memorial Hermann they offer competitive pay and benefits, flexible schedules, float pool opportunities, housing stipends for contract assignments, career growth opportunities, fellowship programs, and college tuition support. It also offers loan repayments for completed clinical and non-clinical bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees.