Nurses' personal perceptions of clinical work adaptation during COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The clinical work of nurses across the United States was profoundly impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Nurses in both hospital and outpatient settings had to adapt quickly to the continuously changing healthcare environment. OBJECTIVE: To describe nurses' responses to open-ended questions of their clinical work adaption during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey with four open-ended questions was completed by practicing HF nurses. Content analysis was used to analyze the written data. RESULTS: The 127 nurses who provided one to four narrative responses, 55.1% were clinical registered nurses and 44.9% were advance practice nurses. Four categories emerged: changing paths exemplifies work challenges, developing technical skills and resources, asking better questions while listening, and showing resilience through new paths to optimize work. CONCLUSION: Understanding perceptions of nurses' adaptions to clinical work made during the pandemic provides insight into the challenges and opportunities for development in the future.

Perceptions of changes in practice patterns and patient care among heart failure nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The Coronavirus (COVID-19) had a profound impact on the delivery of care in both hospital and outpatient settings across the United States. Patients with heart failure (HF) and healthcare providers had to abruptly adapt. OBJECTIVE: To describe how the COVID-19 pandemic affected practice patterns of HF nurses. METHODS: Practicing HF nurses completed a cross-sectional, anonymous, web-based survey of perceptions of HF practice. Analyses involved descriptive and comparative statistics. RESULTS: Of 171 nurses who completed surveys, outpatient HF visits decreased and 63.2% added telehealth visits. Despite spending about 29 min educating patients during visits, 27.5% of nurses perceived that the pandemic decreased patients' abilities to provide optimal self-care. Nurses reported decreased ability to collect objective data (62.4%; n = 78), although subjective assessment stayed the same (41.6%; n = 52). CONCLUSION: Nurses' practice patterns provided insight into patient care changes made during COVID-19. Most core components of HF management were retained, but methods of delivery during the pandemic differed.

Undergraduate nursing students' COVID-19 vaccine intentions: A national survey.

INTRODUCTION: In December 2020, the first two COVID-19 vaccines were approved in the United States (U.S.) and recommended for distribution to front-line personnel, including nurses. Nursing students are being prepared to fill critical gaps in the health care workforce and have played important supportive roles during the current pandemic. Research has focused on vaccine intentions of current health care providers and less is known about students' intentions to vaccinate for COVID-19. METHODS: A national sample of undergraduate nursing students were recruited across five nursing schools in five U.S. regions in December 2020. The survey measured perceived risk/threat of COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccine attitudes, perceived safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, sources for vaccine information and level of intention to become vaccinated [primary, secondary (i.e., delayed), or no intention to vaccinate]. RESULTS: The final sample consisted of 772 students. The majority (83.6%) had intentions to be vaccinated, however of those 31.1% indicated secondary intention, a delay in intention or increased hesitancy). The strongest predictors of primary intention were positive attitudes (OR = 6.86; CI = 4.39-10.72), having lower safety concerns (OR = 0.26; CI = 0.18-0.36), and consulting social media as a source of information (OR = 1.56; CI = 1.23-1.97). Asian (OR = 0.47; CI = 0.23-0.97) and Black (OR 0.26; CI = 0.08-0.80) students were more likely to indicate secondary intention as compared to primary intention. Students in the Midwest were most likely to indicate no intention as compared to secondary intention (OR = 4.6; CI = 1.32-16.11). CONCLUSIONS: As the first two COVID-19 vaccines were approved/recommended in the U.S. nursing students had overall high intentions to vaccinate. Findings can guide development of educational interventions that reduce concerns of vaccine safety that are delivered in a way that is supportive and affirming to minoritized populations while being respectful of geo-political differences.

Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions on nursing education during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic: A national sample.

BACKGROUND: In 2020, nursing educational programs were abruptly interrupted and largely moved online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PURPOSE: To explore nursing students' perspectives about the effects of the pandemic on their education and intention to join the nursing workforce. METHODS: Undergraduate nursing students from 5 universities across 5 United States regions were invited to participate in an online survey to elicit both quantitative and qualitative data. FINDINGS: The final sample included quantitative data on 772 students and qualitative data on 540 students. Largely (65.1%), students reported that the pandemic strengthened their desire to become a nurse; only 11% had considered withdrawing from school. Qualitatively, students described the effect of the pandemic on their psychosocial wellbeing, adjustment to online learning, and challenges to clinical experiences. CONCLUSION: Findings highlighted the need to develop emergency education preparedness plans that address student wellbeing and novel collaborative partnerships between schools and clinical partners.