NurseB.MN

I will say that many times I wish we would be able to be tested as nurses or even antibody tested for piece of mind and reassurance we aren't bringing anything home or out to the public. However, I agree it is very unrealistic to test everyone weekly. We just don't have enough resources, lab technicians or phlebotomist. Also it seems like a waste to have hospital workers in an N95, face shield gown and gloves that don't even come into contact with patients or nurses.

That is very disappointing and sad how some units are so low on PPE that they are having to sink to such low standards. It sounds very unsafe and seems like they need to increase their staffing. I am an RN and it makes me sick to hear how many patients the NA’s I work with have some days. The nurses should be taking more responsibility and initiative to help you guys out. I would report to management how unsafe you feel working and the great amount of stress it is putting on you as well as a waste of the PPE. They can hopefully atleast reach out to the nurses to be more mindful of clustering their cares and splitting up a bit more of the load especially with having only two patients . Hope this gets figured out for you. Stay safe, you will be able to find another job, your safety matters too!

I completely agree the media is blowing this pandemic out of the water. I know that there are many hospitals struggling and their nurses would speak differently. But making everyone scared by only sharing the worst statistics it is not helpful at all either. The patients sitting in the hospital with only tv and the news to keep them busy is making them go crazy. They are so worried about what’s going on outside the hospital thinking it’s the most unsafe place they can be does not create a healing environment. Do you think the media being portrayed this way is to try to enforce people to social distance and stay home?

That seems crazy to be pushing undergrad nurses through to be on the front lines. That is unfair for them not getting a proper orientation to nursing on top of being total chaos as well as unsafe to patients.

Hospitals and Nurses Are OverwhelmedThroughout the US many hospitals are overwhelmed with the ongoing pandemic of the COVID-19 virus. They are short-staffed on nurses forcing them to work long overtime hours. Many are so overwhelmed that they are hiring travel nurses to make up for the shortage. I am currently an RN at a hospital in Minneapolis MN and am experiencing the complete opposite of this. Social-Distancing?I work on a floor consisting mainly of elective, emergent as well as non- emergent surgeries. A little over two weeks ago all elective surgeries were postponed and absolutely no patient visitors are allowed in the hospital. Initially they told us this decision was made to promote people to stay home (social distancing) and to conserve hospital beds, ventilators, monitors and other critical supplies that will be needed for this pandemic. This has left the hospital quiet and very empty compared to the normal chaos of the typical daily pace. Patients are anxious and feeling alone not being able to have family members with them for support. Family members are confused and scared, constantly calling to get updates on their loved ones’ condition. As nurses we are taking on a lot of stress relaying messages between doctors and families, consoling people that are sad or upset, and trying to be positive to help shed some light on this situation. Hospitals are UnpreparedIt seems as though the hospital did not know how to prepare for this type of crisis. After the first influx of patients being tested it took weeks to figure out where they would put these patients and how we would get proper protective equipment. They now have elected one of our medical floors to take all of the COVID rule-out and positive tested patients. In addition, some ICU beds have been dedicated to caring for the critically ill patients needing ventilators. You can see and hear the frustration with this decision because now all the responsibility to care for these patients is only on a select few units. They are putting themselves as well as their families at risk to be exposed to this virus. While these nurses are hard at work and in a high-stress environment, other floors have completely shut down or decreased their patient populations immensely. This includes the OR, care suites, surgical specialties, orthopedic and observation units. This last week many nurses have been called off to stay home or put on low need due to the decreased census of patients throughout the hospital. Nurses are being floated every day to sit at door entrances for hours, screening visitors trying to enter the hospital. Other nurses are teaching classes about how to put on and take off PPE equipment. Some are walking around going to every unit basically begging to find any place they can help. I have done so myself and can speak for most of the nurses that we all feel a little useless not being able to care for patients. Financial Struggle Equals Threat of Lay-OffThis week we received notice that the hospital is struggling financially due to this pandemic. No surgeries and a major decrease in admissions mean no money coming into the system. In the next month they will be cutting back nurses’ hours, laying people off, or paying them a minimum of 50% of their FTE. The rationale for this is to conserve the hospital revenue as much as they can; all to prepare and utilize it to stock up on PPE equipment for the upcoming months when COVID numbers are expected to skyrocket. Calm Before the Storm?It is uneasy and hard to tell if this is truly the calm before the storm or if many nurses will have to apply for unemployment alongside a large number of other Americans. People see the news and expect all US nurses to be the ones on the front line helping patients and communities through this crisis. It is truly heartbreaking to feel that you may have to look for a new job at the end of this or could be thrown back into a completely unorganized surge of ill patients, without proper training or equipment. Nurses are full of anxiety and on edge not knowing what the future holds for us in our career. This pandemic is truly affecting everyone in a different way, causing lots of uncertainty and stress. I just hope that some clarity can be shed soon so we can properly prepare for this and try to prevent the spread of this virus to our population and healthcare workers.

At work things are changing everyday. I personally work on a surgical specialties floor where all elective surgeries have been canceled. We take the overflow medical patients and emergency surgeries. With that our census is very low. Yesterday I had two patients the whole 12 hour shift. Now today I am a screener at one of the hospital doors for another 12 hour shift. As of now it just seems like a waiting game until the virus spreads and every floor has it. I am grateful for my position now but anxious for the time coming and the unknown. I wish I was doing more and could help the ones overwhelmed by the positive cases and rule out patients.