What Do Nurses Need?
“Covid-19 Is ‘Probably Going to End My Career’” is the title of my recent column in the New York Times. The nurse who made that statement spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because her hospital doesn’t like having nurses speak out. So—nurses are afraid to publicly complain about their difficulties on the job, struggle with a lack of PPE and short-staffing, and are overwhelmed by the number of deaths they are seeing. All this has led to the nursing profession being in crisis.
The six ideas below could help nurses drowning in difficulties imposed by Covid find their way back to solid ground.
- Staffing legislation. This could mean ratios, or some other way to insure that nurses are not expected to work short. The legislation should also require robust nursing float pools and keep secretarial and nursing assistant support at their usual levels. Units have to be staffed in a way that maximally benefits patients, not just to help balance a hospital’s bottom line.
- Mental health support. Nurses as a group are not always open to counseling, but during Covid nurses have spoken out about the emotional toll of the work and their ongoing PTSD. They have recognized their need for mental health support. Hospitals must give nurses health insurance that covers individual counseling, and have mental health resources available on the job for nurses. “Covid broke me” is being said by too many nurses, too often.
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