Every morning I wake up feeling like I am in a dream. My life as I had known it is now completely different and I can no longer do most of the things I used to enjoy doing.
I can’t imagine what it must be like for nurses on the front lines to go to work every day to take care of these COVID patients. For every problem, there must be a solution. I chose to reframe my mindset and thought I’d share with you some tips that might help.
When I want something to be different, I always start out with vision and intention. Vision is what we would like to see in the future and then intention is a predetermined outcome that it is going to happen no matter what.
We all had a vision and intention to attend nursing school, graduate, successfully pass the NCLEX examination and get our nursing licenses. For myself, I have chosen to use the same vision and intention concept during this COVID situation.
You may be thinking, “But I can’t control it.” Control is not part of the equation, it’s just a predetermined outcome. You couldn’t control nursing school either. Even if your nursing school is closed, which has happened for some nursing students.
Using the same intention during COVID, that this is not forever and that it will go away soon, could help you feel better about your days. As nurses, we see the dark side of humanity, we feel helpless and cannot do anything about it. But there are so many things that we can do. We help patients every day, we save lives every day.
Having a new mindset that this temporary and we are doing the best we can with the situation at hand gives me peace of mind in that the only thing we know for sure is that change is inevitable.
But, by having a predetermined outcome that this situation will be resolved gives me solace about our future.
Erin Marie Olszewski is an Army combat veteran who served our country on the front lines in Iraq during Desert Storm. Earlier this year, as a nurse, she traveled from her Florida home to work at Elmhurst Hospital in New York to work on the COVID unit.
Having worked in an ICU COVID unit in the Sunshine State, she was shocked to witness the discrepancies in the way patients in New York were treated as contrasted to those in Florida. While it is true that at the time Florida did not have near the numbers of New York, she was devastated by the standard of care in the Big Apple.
There, in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Olszewski found patients who tested negative for COVID-19 were being put on COVID only floors, a surefire way to contract the disease.
Seeing this procedure, as well as noticing other healthcare failings such as lax sanitation measures, she decided to go undercover and record conversations with nurses and physicians. When she began sharing on social media what she found, she was fired. From her social media sharings, she then was the subject of a number of interviews and eventually a book deal was offered to her.
The criticism on speaking her truth since has been, to say the least, interesting. People criticized Ms. Olszewski for videotaping her colleagues without their knowledge or consent and for speaking out on vaccine safety. Others are applauding her for exposing what they feel is the truth and are grateful that she has brought to light these injustices.
I certainly don’t believe it’s proper to video patient’s medical records (even redacting personal information) as this is a flat-out violation of HIPAA. However, it is sad that she is being crucified in the media for speaking her truth. The reason nurses are so disempowered is because we are afraid to speak our own truth for exactly what is happening to Ms. Olszewski.
I will leave it up to your own decision on the truth and her findings however I will say that until nurses stick together and support each other, we will never have the power that we would like in our profession.
In addition, I would say that even if you don’t support Ms. Olszewski or believe the merits of what she says, then please be respectful and “agree to disagree” rather than cutting down someone for speaking their truth. The civility of the nursing profession is in our hands.
Can you imagine being in nursing school while a pandemic flourishes all around you? I remember how scared I was when I first graduated, wondering if I was going to remember anything, if I was going to get it right and/or whether a patient was going to die. To also worry about the effects of an ongoing virus outbreak would have greatly elevated the already existing worry and stress levels.
The future of our profession is in the hands of our current nursing students. In a recent article, the student nurses were concerned about inadequate protection for health care workers and slow government response. The students also were concerned about being overworked and suffering mental trauma.
One student said she wore a mask for only 15 minutes but felt like she was breathing through a comforter. The feeling was of claustrophobia and she could not imagine having to work the whole day wearing it.
With all the attention focused on nurses and the profession being in the public eye, I am very empathetic to all the problems nurses are having at this point. And I, too, can imagine how scary it would be for these students.
When I started as a nurse, I remember how terrified I was to speak up to a doctor. Amazingly, one student related recently that her current textbook said, “Listen to what the doctor is saying.” “Do not disrespect your doctor.” “Make sure you follow through with their orders.”
Times have changed and our nursing textbooks need to change to catch up with today’s nursing practices.
The public now knows that nursing is not a safe, stable, and easy job and that nurses are the most understanding and empathetic health care professionals.
Nurses today are working under extremely tense conditions. With short staffing, shortage of supplies and, as we have seen, the general danger of a new disease. Many nurses say, “We signed up for this!” Yet, that is not true. We do not have to work in conditions where it is not safe to do so.
Today’s nursing curriculum heavily emphasizes risk prevention of disease and skills such as creating a sterile environment and how to put on/take off PPE.
Nurses are now needed more than ever and are incredibly important to bringing more nurses to the work force to decrease short staffing.
As I say, “If you feel in your DNA that you are meant to be a nurse, then go for it.” But if it is something that you want to do just for a good job with the safety and security of employment … it is not worth it.
I am hoping that students will go into the work force feeling empowered and can stand on the front lines with other nurse heroes.
Nursing students! You are our future! We appreciate everything that you are doing to become dedicated members of our profession. Please share this article with nursing students as it may be helpful to them.
As our society continues to become more technologically oriented, there is less and less time to have interaction with others, especially during this trying time. In addition, in nursing, we rely so heavily on technology and are usually “knee deep” in watching monitors, taking vitals, performing assessments, doing treatments, passing out meds and charting on the computer that we can’t take as much time as we would like for our patients for their psychosocial needs.
We all have learned to address the patient as a whole: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Yet many times, the spiritual and psychosocial aspects are neglected due to time constraints.
Nevertheless, what if spirituality can help a patient heal? Let’s take 2 patients the same age with the same diagnosis and same background, yet one survives while the other does not.
My only thought that might account for that is spirituality and their mind set.
What, you may ask, is spirituality?
I am referring to spiritually not in religious terms but in a connection to the higher self by knowing we are here for a purpose and we are not alone.
As nurses, I believe we have a duty to address our patients’ spiritual concerns and support them in this process to promote healing. I believe the purpose of all nurses is to promote healing. And one of the ways that we can do that is through spirituality.
Again, I am not saying that it must be in the form of organized religion but in terms of addressing the patient’s spiritual needs to improve healing. I would love to see that a spiritual history be taken, not just religion. What is the person’s relationship to their higher power? How important is that to them? Has faith been important to the person at other times in their life? Does faith make a difference? Does it help to talk to someone about spirituality? Those things make a difference.
Would you like to explore spiritual matters with someone? Talking to someone about a spirit history is a powerful intervention in and of itself. When patients are reminded of their beliefs and how important they are to them, they will come to also appreciate the nurse’s sensitivity to these issues just by bringing up the topic.
Dr. Masaru Emoto was a pseudoscientist studying consciousness and the author of the New York Times bestseller, “Hidden Messages in Water.” Dr. Emoto experimented with water. Emoto would recite beautiful and positive things to the water and look under the microscope at its configuration and the crystals were all beautifully organized. Then he would speak negatively and disparagingly to the water, look under the microscope, and see that the crystals appeared disjointed and ugly.
As our bodies are comprised of a huge portion of water, our thoughts and feelings affect the configuration in our bodies and in our patients’ bodies. By reminding our patients of their spirituality, their prayer and the way that they talk to themselves and the way we talk to them could positively affect the molecules in their bodies.
Danielle LaPorte, bestselling author, speaker and entrepreneur on conscious goal setting, did a similar experiment with apples. She picked 2 apples at the same time which were of same size and ripeness. She found the apples to which she spoke positively had a longer life than the apples to which she spoke negatively to had decomposed more quickly.
Our patients are living beings, if talking, and thinking nice things to them and helping them to think positively and connecting with their higher self could make an impact on their health, then I say let’s incorporate spirituality into our nursing practice.
Years ago, when I first realized that I wanted to be a nurse, my parents thought that was great and told me, “Oh, you will always have a job.”
At the outset of my career, I had 7 interviews and 7 job offers. Unfortunately, with COVID, that is not the case at this time. As hospitals continue to lose revenue, more than a million healthcare workers have lost their jobs. This is unprecedented but so is what is happening in the world right now.
It’s sad that nurses, who are the largest percentage of healthcare workers, are in short supply and are losing their jobs because patients are coming to the hospital only if they suspect COVID-19 or if they have an emergency. Elective surgeries, providing a large part of the revenue of hospitals, are not being done during the pandemic. As the country slowly starts to re-open, it is my hope that nurses can return to work as soon as possible.
In fact, nurses who are still working are required to mop floors, change sheets, take out trash and arrange rides for people. They are becoming phlebotomists, orthopedic technicians and social workers since the other support staff have been furloughed.
Nursing has always been a stressful job but even more so now. We have never seen anything like this.
I have long advocated that nurses become a revenue producing center of the hospital. Additionally, I believe nurses should not come with the room, like dietary and housekeeping. Right now, nurses are the largest cost center and therefore the easiest to cut. When nurses become a revenue producing center, that is where our power lies. I would even like to see patients chose the nurses they would like to care for them just like they chose their physicians.
If you have been laid off, I am truly sorry. If you would like to create your own economy, please feel free to call my office so we can discuss options for your consideration.
This is National Nurses Week although the World Health Organization has declared 2020 as the Year of the Nurse. The American Nurses Association has made this the month to celebrate nurses with May being nurses’ month.
Regardless, every day should be Nurses Day and nurses should be celebrated for all they do.
This pandemic has spotlighted nursing and has thrust nurses into the forefront unlike ever before. What this world situation has done is illuminated the gaps in what’s not working in our health care system such as the lack of proper equipment and not having enough staff to do their jobs.
I hope that focusing the spotlight on the gaps will create a new awareness that will get those the gaps filled.
Just as we have a new language during this pandemic such as social distancing, COVID-19 and shelter-in-place, new words have arisen to describe nurses.
The American Academy of Critical Care Nurses has used the word “UNSTOPPABLE” when describing nurses.
Another word that has come up is “INNOVATION”. While the pandemic is still underway, innovations have been made in using more than 1 ventilator for patients of similar size. Nurses have used extension tubing to put the IV pumps in the hall. And baby monitors are being used to communicate with patients.
Nurses are the best at working to get around problems to make sure that patients get their needed care.
One more word to note is “INSPIRATION.” Nurses go to work every day with smiles on their faces to do their job. Many have moved across the country to help those in need. They took travel nursing assignments in New York and Louisiana where more people have been affected by the COVID virus. The good that has come out of this pandemic is bringing nurses together unlike any time ever before.
From what I have heard, nurses are now working much closer as teams. They support each other for the common cause in getting more equipment and working together doing what they can to support each other during these difficult times.
Lastly, my word for nurses is “HUMAN HEROES”. “Human” because as nurses, we really see the humanity of life. We are involved with peoples’ most personal issues and are there for them when they are confronting their own mortality. Nurses stayed with patients so they wouldn’t have to die alone and came up with creative ways, like recording their family’s voices on their personal cell phones and putting it by their patient’s ear so that they would know that they were loved during their last few breaths.
While nurses are heroes and have done their jobs with such professionalism and dedication, their humanity still shines through in their love and their care. But nurses, please use this as a reminder to take care of yourself. Nurses get to fill their cup first before they can give to others.
What has your employer done to celebrate Nurses’ Week? I would love to hear in the comments below.
Whether or not we are on the front lines, many are experiencing what used to be called “shell shock” or “combat fatigue.” The American Psychological Association calls it post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault.” As our world changes drastically, I think we all have been experiencing this traumatic event.
The major complication with PTSD is that if you don’t deal with it at the time, the effects can still haunt you long after the event ends with such reactions as flashbacks, nightmares, feelings of sadness, fear, anger, detachment or being estranged from others. Social distancing alone possibly can precipitate this.
It is better to prevent the problem than have it occur. One way to prevent PTSD is to vent your emotions. Keeping your feelings stuck inside only creates for “an emotional log jam” in your body and actually can cause physical problems as well. I know firsthand about PTSD because when I first became a nurse, I treated AIDS patients. At that time not much was known about HIV and how to prevent it. These patients were spewing fluids from every part of their body and it was very, very scary!
I recall one nurse running into a room where the patient had pulled out his NG tube and was vomiting. She was afraid the man would aspirate but, nevertheless, entered the room without proper protective gear to put the NG back in and reconnect it to prevent aspiration. I often wonder about her and hope that she is well.
I do know that taking care of these patients cost me many sleepless nights. I would wake up worrying if I would be infected and if I did everything I could to help the patients.
That’s one reason why it was so particularly important to me to create The COVID-19: Survival Guide for Nurses and Healthcare Practitioners. Many of our experts discussed the importance of talking and expressing your feelings to release them rather than storing them in your body. In fact, Beryl Ryan, RN, a certified Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) practitioner and trauma specialist discussed using EFT to release the stored emotions in your body. She was a brand-new nurse and a 300-pound man had a heart attack and fell on her. She then developed chronic pain. She took us through an exercise called “tapping” that releases these emotions and released her pain. The full story is more interesting than my little excerpt so take a listen!
Shelley Brown, a mindfulness coach, taught us about how to be present in the moment so we don’t get overwhelmed by something in the past or something that may occur in the future.
Mady Stovall, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, is a researcher in the area of moral injury which is defined as ”an injury to an individual’s moral conscience and values resulting from an act of perceived moral transgression which produces profound emotional guilt and shame and, in some cases, also a sense of betrayal, anger and profound “moral disorientation.”
Mady gave a name to what happens to nurses today in not having proper PPE, being exposed to patients who are positive, some nurses even became infected and tested positive since they were not told of the patient’s condition and thus helped further spread the disease. Mady also shared ways on how to overcome moral injury.
Regardless if you watch the videos from the COVID-19: Survival Guide, it is important for you to know that PTSD is very real and today you can ask to get the help that you need to prevent it from getting worse. Many options are available including EAP (Employee Assistance Program) which are free to employees.
I know. I’ve been there with PTSD. I have been fortunate to be able to find the right tools to release it … and I hope you can too.
The New York State Health Department and 2 hospitals were served with 3 lawsuits alleging they failed to protect healthcare workers and the public.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is a union and advocates for nurses for safe staffing, professional pay and benefits and a voice in patient care.
The lawsuits claim that the Department of Health and the targeted hospitals have failed to:
(a) provide proper personal protection equipment (PPE),
(b) properly train RNs redeployed from other hospital units,
(c) provide safe working conditions, and
(d) requiring nurses to return to work when they are still ill.
The suits also claim nurses have been placed in unsafe working conditions without appropriate masks.
According to the NYSNA, up to 70% of active nurses were exposed to COVID. A nurse in 1 hospital was given only a week off to recuperate rather than the federally mandated 2 week period. Another hospital required sick nurses to return to work which, obviously and seemingly negligently put their patients and families as well as co-workers and community at risk.
Overall, there has been a lack of appropriate testing and PPE for staff. Some places provide their workers with only a single N95 respirator for an entire week and place it in a paper bag and others are directed to use the same gown while treating multiple COVID-positive patients.
Intimidation has even been used against nurses who dare to speak publicly about hospital deficiencies.
It is a frightening time to be a nurse. My concern is that when the states do not ease up on sheltering instructions so that we are able to keep our community and healthcare professionals safe.
I find it incredulous that many nurses in New York and London have been wearing garbage bags because of the lack of protective garb. It is beyond appalling that nurses are having to resort to this questionable protection.
The United States is a wealthy nation and should be able to manufacture or pay for whatever supplies and equipment we need in this pandemic. In fact, The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA) released a position statement on COVID-19 which you can find by clicking here. TAANA is an advocate for nurses as our voting members are all nurses.
The recommendations include urging the federal government under the direction of President Trump to exercise its full authority under the Defense Production Act in which we are asking the President to release an additional memorandum to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase production of N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment (PPE) for health professionals.
TAANA also recommends the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to maintain strict COVID-19 PPE regulations and guidelines that are based on science and data rather than supply chain driven information.
The CDC changed its guidelines due to the supply chain shortage. If the CDC guidelines required PPE before this pandemic, nothing has changed since the onset except lack of equipment and, therefore, the CDC should not have changed its guidelines. “TAANA urges the CDC to revise its COVID-19 PPE guidelines consistent with the agency’s mission and statutory directive.”
In addition, TAANA urges the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, state professional licensing boards and professional nursing organizations to develop protocols that are protective of the healthcare professionals who wish to delay or decline patient care until they have inadequate PPE. This would protect nurses who choose not to work when faced with inadequate PPE.
The position statement also requires that there be adequate testing available with rapid results for healthcare professionals with any symptoms of COVID-19.
During this crisis, TAANA recommends that state professional licensing boards consider modifying disciplinary agreements to return to the workplace healthcare professionals who are willing to serve. This would be a great resource for individuals who have a license on suspension
We are asking the boards to consider nurses who have completed their term on suspension to have their licenses reactivated as soon as possible so they can return to the workforce to help.
I encourage you and your peers to share this position statement with your state and federal representatives and senators as well as any nursing association with which you are affiliated so they will act on this.
Have you ever found a new car that you think is oh so right for your personality and after you purchase it, suddenly, you see the same kind of car everywhere on the road?
That is called the Tetris Effect.
It’s not that the company started producing more cars and then more people bought them but, you probably did not recognize that the number of those cars have been there all along and only now are you aware of that fact.
So, what we believe or think about actually comes about. If we believe that there are not enough clients or people won’t pay us for our services or even if we are afraid of failure … all those beliefs are going to interfere with your ability to get clients and make money in your own business.
If you have one of those beliefs, take a moment and ask yourself: “Is that really true?” Think about it and then ask yourself: “If it is true, then what is it costing me to have this belief?” … “What would it be like not to have that belief?” … and “What is the turnaround of that statement?”
So, in the example of believing that “No one is going to pay me for my services,” it will cost me clients, money, frustration and sadness. While, if the opposite was true, I would have all the clients that I would want, I would be happy, fulfilled and generating the income that I desire. And the turnaround I would realize is that there are plenty of clients who want to pay me for my services.
Your homework assignment is to figure out what your limiting beliefs are and turn them around into the positive.
Also, if you enjoy this and other articles, please take a moment to share them with current and future nurse business owners. Thank you.
