Clinical Leader Series: A Virtual Mental Well-being Initiative for Nurse Leaders During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.

OBJECTIVE: A virtual mental well-being initiative was developed for nurse leaders to provide education about mental health and to teach self-care skills. BACKGROUND: Because of substantial demand placed on nurse leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations must address stress and burnout by providing a continuum of care to include education, support, and intervention. METHODS: All levels of nurse leaders at a multicampus healthcare system were invited to attend. Data were collected on coping, empowerment, burnout, and quality of life. Participant responses to discussion prompts were compiled and reviewed. RESULTS: Although the independent parallel comparison did not show significant improvements, scores on the coping, empowerment, burnout, and quality-of-life measures were maintained. Discussion prompts yielded valuable insights into nurse leader experiences and session effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: This type of education, as well as psychological support, will continue to be needed after the pandemic due to burnout, moral injury, and primary or secondary trauma. Findings are applicable to future crisis situations.

Long COVID and breathlessness: an overview.

This article offers a review of what is known so far about post-acute covid-19 and the underlying pathophysiology related to this condition. The main focus will be on the respiratory symptoms. It will then explore how community nurses can monitor and support patients with symptoms of breathlessness with a supporting discussion of the current recommendations for the management and treatment of patients presenting with symptoms of breathlessness. Palliation of symptoms will be highlighted but managing the supportive care needs for patients affected by COVID-19 and nearing the end of life is outside the scope of this article.

Long-term conditions and severe acute respiratory syndrome SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).

Observation of infection trends through the course of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has indicated that those with certain pre-existing chronic conditions, such as hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and obesity, are particularly likely to develop severe infection and experience disastrous sequelae, including near-fatal pneumonia. This article aims to outline how SARS-CoV-2 affects people and to consider why individuals living with long-term conditions are at increased risk from infection caused by this virus. A summary of available clinical guidelines with recommendations is presented, to provide community nurses with the up-to-date information required for protecting individuals living with a number of long-term conditions. Additionally, special measures required are outlined, so that community nurses may reflect on how to best provide nursing care for individuals living with long-term conditions and understand protection measures for individuals at increased risk from severe COVID-19.