Ya, it's not over, ICUs still overrun

COVID-19 is vicious. This is an ER Nurses blog but we know there's crossover. Many pulled into pandemic response (most in fact). But special shout out to our family in the ICU!

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Overworked in the ER?

Are you overworked? Working double 12 hour shifts? COVID got you working 2 years of overtime? What are you doing, or your unit, to ensure nurses and doctors are well rested and prepared for their shifts? Or what could be done to improve work place conditions? Looking to hear from those who've tried some new things and have found success (or failures)
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Burnout - From the ER and Beyond, Healthcare Workers at Risk

The global pandemic, which still continues, has forced many healthcare professionals including nurses to work under the constant and unrelenting pressures of overtime and patient loss. That conicides with a work culture and system that often works to undermine alleviating workload for frontline healthcare professionals. The brunt of this reality is held by nurses working amidst the effects of COVID, be it directly with patients, or the spillover from understaffed departments. Burnout is not only real, it's increasing. Nursing, and healthcare professionals, know that their job is fast-paced, sometimes at break neck speed, role that demands significant focus and investment in all ways. That level of service provision dminishes with constant pressures to offer quality care unders stress prolonged over months to years (as is the pandemic reality). This includes mental and physical weight that can have adverse effects on the profession, but most importantly on individual health. W...
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Overcrowding and Resourcing in The ER

How many of you care for patients in the ER who shouldn't really be there? At worst we're talking about psychiatric patients who sit in the ER and pose a physical threat to nurses. At best it is a drain on resources and impacts overall healthcare for those who really need it. Appropriate protocols and policies to streamline healthcare provision and ensure the right care is given to the needs of the patient are paramount elements to efficiency. When someone doesn't need to be an ER, or someone we should be transferred to another unit that can better provide for their needs isn't, everybody suffers. The issue can also lead to poor delivery of healthcare to patients who are in the wrong ward. And also as an added stress to the nurses who need to pay attention to patients maybe outside of their particular expertise. What protocols or policies do you have in place to mitigate? Or is this just part of delivering effective healthcare to all? Does it look different in for prof...
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