Health and Well-Being of Intensive Care Unit Physicians: How to Ensure the Longevity of a Critical Specialty.

A second epidemic of burnout, fatigue, anxiety, and moral distress has emerged concurrently with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and critical care physicians are especially affected. This article reviews the history of burnout in health care workers, presents the signs and symptoms, discusses the specific impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care unit caregivers, and attempts to identify potential strategies to combat the Great Resignation disproportionately affecting health care workers. The article also focuses on how the specialty can amplify the voices and highlight the leadership potential of underrepresented minorities, physicians with disabilities, and the aging physician population.

Impressions of the Nursing Profession Among Nursing Students and New Graduates During the First Wave of COVID-19: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has been a defining event for the next generation of the nursing workforce. Complex pandemic practice environments have raised concerns for the preparation and support of novice nurses, even as a multitude of nurses leave the profession. PURPOSE: Researchers sought to examine nursing students' and new graduate nurses' impressions of the nursing profession in contrasting regions of New York State during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Inductive content analysis was performed on narrative text responses (n = 295) drawn from a larger multisite mixed-methods survey. RESULTS: Five subconcepts were abstracted, leading to the main concept of shocked moral distress . CONCLUSION: Nursing students and new graduate nurses have experienced high levels of moral distress but remain committed to the profession. Building moral resilience, fostering ethical decision making, and implementing protective policies can reduce the incidence of moral distress.

The Future Capacity of the Nursing Workforce: COVID-19 Pandemic's Impacts on New Nurses and Nursing Students Toward the Profession.

BACKGROUND: Nurses are concerned for their safety and conflicted about their career, because their duty to care for patients during the pandemic involved competing ethical obligations, including their own personal safety. PURPOSE: The aim was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on new nurses and nursing students in terms of safety and interest in nursing specifically related to self-efficacy, geographic region case density, and frontline experience in health care. METHODS: New nurses and nursing students (N = 472) responded to an online survey examining self-efficacy, sense of safety, and interest in nursing. The survey included an open-ended question to support response interpretation. RESULTS: Researchers identified significant differences among new nurses and students from contrasting case-dense regions in terms of safety and interest in nursing. CONCLUSION: Concerns about personal safety and the safety of others were apparent. Over time, this may lead to a decrease in willingness to enter or remain in the nursing profession.

Interest in Receiving Nutrition Information Through Social Media Among Food-Security Program Participants in Washington, DC.

INTRODUCTION: Effective communication approaches are necessary to reach food-security program participants. Accessing food-security programs has been especially challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media can play an important role in reducing some communication barriers. We examined interest in receiving nutrition information via social media among adults participating in food-security programs in Washington, DC. METHODS: We developed and administered a 22-item survey to adults participating in food-security programs (N = 375). Participants were recruited at Martha's Table, in Washington, DC, from January through March 2020. We performed bivariate analyses and multinomial logistic regressions to examine predictors of interest in receiving nutrition information via social media. RESULTS: Sixty-nine percent of participants reported using social media, and 49% expressed interest in receiving nutrition information via social media. Higher levels of self-efficacy and belief in the value of digital technology were associated with greater likelihood of interest in receiving nutrition information via social media (χ2 6 = 139.0; Nagelkerke R2 = 0.35; P < .001). We found no differences by sex or digital technology access in interest in receiving nutrition information via social media. CONCLUSION: Social media is a widely used and a feasible method to reach food-security program participants. Understanding program participants' interest in receiving health information via social media may help food-security programs plan effective communication strategies to improve food security, especially when in-person participation is limited, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.