SURVEY: Nurses, Are You Prepared for an Encounter with COVID-19?

The Coronavirus/COVID-19 has become a rapidly evolving health threat to individuals and communities around the globe. Nurses are in a position to help stop the spread of this disease if they have up-to-date training, knowledge, and protection. Nurses Announcements Archive

Updated:   Published

Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

We first started hearing about the Novel Coronavirus in December 2019. It made the news due to the rapid increase in the numbers of individuals in China who became infected with this new disease. As the deadly virus began to spread, affecting those around the globe, including those in the United States, it has become very obvious that controlling the spread of this virus is going to be a very serious challenge. Since it is a new disease, no one has immunity and there is currently no vaccine available.

On March 11, the COVID-19 outbreak was characterized by the World Health Organization as a Pandemic. As such, it is critical that all members of the health care teams have the appropriate knowledge, training, and personal protective equipment to effectively and safely provide care to patients, without unprotected exposure to themselves.

As a potential first responder to fight this virus, have you received the training needed to assess and care for potential and confirmed COVID-19 patients in your place of work? Do you have adequate equipment? Does your place of employment have a clear and up-to-date protocol for responding to COVID-19? Or are communications confusing or even nonexistent?

Do you feel prepared?

Please take this survey so we can see how nurses from around the globe feel regarding the level of preparedness to fight and stop the spread of this threat to public health. After taking the survey, please return here and share what preparations and precautions your healthcare facility and you personally are taking. We would love to hear from you.

Direct link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CT77WW7

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19): We Want to Hear from You

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Specializes in Cardiology.

I'm in Ohio and I feel confident with our local hospitals being prepared and ready. However, as a nation we were completely unprepared.

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Specializes in LTC.

I am terrified. I work in a LTC facility and we are woefully unprepared. If we have a positive case, we are ALL going to get it. We have no more hand sanitizer, no more sani wipes, no n95s, dwindling supply of basic surgical masks. It’s not like we can just ship anybody with symptoms out to the hospital and have them stay there. We will be caring for them if they are not deathly ill. What in the ever living *** am I supposed to do in this situation?

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1 hour ago, LilybeanRN said:

I am terrified. I work in a LTC facility and we are woefully unprepared. If we have a positive case, we are ALL going to get it. We have no more hand sanitizer, no more sani wipes, no n95s, dwindling supply of basic surgical masks. It’s not like we can just ship anybody with symptoms out to the hospital and have them stay there. We will be caring for them if they are not deathly ill. What in the ever living *** am I supposed to do in this situation?

Call the CDC, the local media and the local health dept...that’s what you’re supposed to do.

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I'm an RT going to nursing school in the fall. My hospital that I work out EVS cannot turn around our gowns fast enough and stock our carts fast enough. We had to wait close to an hour for gowns. Supplies has taken all n95 masks to be rationed in the event they go into shortage. ?

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

Personally I am prepared and trying to keep up to date and not obsess about it.

My hospital is prepared and following CDC guidelines although we will soon run out of sanitizer. We have plenty of soap and will have to do it the old fashioned way with soap and water. Still we'd be in trouble with large amounts of patients with it, and staff quarantine. A local hospital had to put almost 50 people in quarantine due to first case of a patient being positive.

All we can do at this point is stay diligent and hope for the best.

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I wonder just how many facilities had a plan in place for such a contingency prior to this? I hate when people say "that will never happen", and then it happens. Just 3 weeks ago I was talking with a fellow student about remote learning and the internet. I mentioned that during flu season it could reduce the spread of disease. He replied that he doubted it would be a viable plan. Now, all the schools are using that plan.

I am not aware of any hospitals who have a plan for outbreaks. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

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11 hours ago, LilybeanRN said:

I am terrified. I work in a LTC facility and we are woefully unprepared. If we have a positive case, we are ALL going to get it. We have no more hand sanitizer, no more sani wipes, no n95s, dwindling supply of basic surgical masks. It’s not like we can just ship anybody with symptoms out to the hospital and have them stay there. We will be caring for them if they are not deathly ill. What in the ever living *** am I supposed to do in this situation?

LTCs should all be in lockdown. If the virus gets in there it will kill everyone. The families should be notified at once of the reasons, I'm sure they would want it that way. There are alternative solutions to lack of hand sanitizer and such.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
9 minutes ago, juniper222 said:

LTCs should all be in lockdown. If the virus gets in there it will kill everyone. The families should be notified at once of the reasons, I'm sure they would want it that way. There are alternative solutions to lack of hand sanitizer and such.

All the LTC's and ALF's here are not allowing visitors and most people are understanding and staying away. The exception I think being hospice.

Like I said, we are going to run out of hand sanitizer soon in my facility but like you say there are options.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
23 minutes ago, juniper222 said:

I wonder just how many facilities had a plan in place for such a contingency prior to this? I hate when people say "that will never happen", and then it happens. Just 3 weeks ago I was talking with a fellow student about remote learning and the internet. I mentioned that during flu season it could reduce the spread of disease. He replied that he doubted it would be a viable plan. Now, all the schools are using that plan.

I am not aware of any hospitals who have a plan for outbreaks. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thee CDC has issued guidelines long ago for influenza pandemics and I do know hospitals are aware of this but not sure how they plan. I can't remember the year but it wasn't too long ago that we here in Florida were overrun with influenza as we have an elderly population and for a while hospitals were filled to the max, but we handled it.

There are contingency plans for all kinds of things like natural disasters, mass casualties, shooters, so I can't imagine not having one for a pandemic. But like all situations you can plan, but you only know you're ready when it's put to the test.

I will say that having to compete with the general public for masks, sanitizers and toilet paper is a new one to me.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

I notice we have a light elective surgery schedule coming up. Some hospitals are canceling surgeries, but I think we're one of those cash strapped hospitals mentioned in the article that isn't doing this. I think people are canceling the surgeries themselves to stay away from the hospital.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/hospitals-cancel-elective-surgery-to-make-room-for-coronavirus-influx.html

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
1 hour ago, Tweety said:

I think people are canceling the surgeries themselves to stay away from the hospital.

Our preanesthesia nurses who call patients prior to surgery are being asked if it’s safe for the patients to be coming in for surgery. I would not be surprised if some patients are choosing to wait.

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