ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were placed in an unprecedented context in which they engaged with community members, family members, and friends while positioned between dire hospital situations and community disbelief about the seriousness of the pandemic, often along political lines. A secondary analysis of a qualitative study exploring experiences of 39 nurses in the United States and Brazil in engaging with the community and political discourse during the pandemic provided insights into the impact of these interactions on nurses, and implications for how nurses may emerge from this pandemic time stronger and more supported by those in administrative positions.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Pandemics , United States , Humans , Brazil , COVID-19/epidemiology , Fear , FamilyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: to describe the experience of reopening a Brazilian higher education institution during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: experience report of a step-by-set approach to reopening a nursing higher education institution in São Paulo, Brazil, from May 2020 to May 2021. RESULTS: the plan was created and operated by a group including students, professors, and technical-administrative workers. Weekly or by-weekly meetings occurred according to changes in the epidemiological situation and the needs to review the local technical and political agreements. CONCLUSIONS: we suggest that reopening plans during the COVID-19 pandemic should be politically and technically legitimated by all members of the community of a higher education institution so that they can take place quickly and sustainably. The early identification of COVID-19 cases and the adoption of local administrative measures are necessary to reduce the risk of outbreaks.