Lessons learned from Covid

[St.BaptistRN, BSN]

For those of us feeling the effects of Covid on the health care system, what is the best thing you have learned from this challenge?

Since a lot of us have had to step up and fill new roles & responsibilities, are there any skills to share? 
 

I learned CRRT on the Prisma Flex during this, and have seen new ventilator types

[toomuchbaloney]

I learned that an alarming number of people in my community ignore or don't understand science and don't care about other people. 

[TheMoonisMyLantern, ADN, LPN, RN]

I've had to train to supervise at my facility which I'm really enjoying. I like being able to support the staff and I try to make their jobs a little easier. I enjoy getting to guide clinical decisions made on the shift by nursing staff and I like being involved with every floor. I do not like having to make staffing decisions because I am always wrong in managements eyes no matter what I do with staffing, they love to micromanage. I don't like having to confront people who are underperforming, have a toxic attitude, etc because I do not like to write people up. However what I like least of all is when people try to manipulate me into giving them special treatment like I just fell off the turnip truck or something.

But overall I've enjoyed what I've learned so far.

[Cowboyardee]

Hmmm...

I've learned that proning works well (maybe even better) even before intubation. 

Got reaquainted with ultrafiltration.

Learned a lot about the immune system. 

Learned that N95s are surprisingly effective even when reused for weeks on end. 

Learned that hospital administrators by and large have learned nothing at all from covid and would love nothing more than to go on treating emergency medicine and critical care as loss-leaders rather than as critical to the mission of the hospital. They seem to aspire to nothing greater than making a really nice PowerPoint for their bosses and investors about how their new plan (top-down and clueless, naturally) will save money while keeping up with developments from that other nearby competing hospital (which is also, of course, horrifically failing both its staff and the community it serves). Seems they'd prefer to let the place burn to the ground rather than identifying who actually knows what they're doing in a given specialty, making any effort at all at retaining those individuals, and letting those individuals make decisions about how to do things in their areas of expertise, or at least soliciting their advice.