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The practice nurse who had worked in the NHS for nearly half a century;the ‘old-school' nurse;the ‘go-to' healthcare assistant who knew how to get things done. These are just some of the members of the nursing family who have lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABSTRACT
After a long break from clinical practice, I had been hankering to a return for some time. I joined my local trust's nurse bank in January and worked in endoscopy. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it seemed obvious I should find out whether my rusty intensive care skills could be useful.
ABSTRACT
[...]fecal-oral transmission, where rotavirus is present in the feces of a patient is excreted and often contaminates water, food, clothing, toys, utensils, and other high touch objects. When a healthy person comes into contact with these items, the virus can enter the body through the hand or mouth and cause lesions in the digestive tract [4, 7]. Since 2019, the spread of COVID-19 has posed a public health threat throughout the world, endangering people's lives. According to research, N95 masks are more protective against COVID-19 than normal masks. Limiting aggregation is also an important means to limit the spread of the viruses. [...]control measures to limit the number of people gathering and intervening in public places are effective [7].
ABSTRACT
New Socio-Technical Paradigm (Trist, 1981) Old Paradigm New Paradigm The technological imperative Joint optimization People as an extension of the machine People as complementary to the machine People as an expendable spare part People as a resource to be developed Maximum task breakdown, simple narrow skills Optimum task grouping, multiple broad skills External controls (supervisors, specialist staffs, procedures) Internal controls (self-regulating subsystems) Tall organisation chart, autocratic style Flat organisation chart, participative style Competition, gamesmanship Collaboration, collegiality Organisation's purposes only Members' and society's purposes also Alienation Commitment Low risk-taking Innovation Socio-technical Dimensions or Subsystems Generally, the socio-technical system consists of three main dimensions or subsystems: the social, technical, and environmental (Figure 1). Trist encouraged leaders and designers to focus on networks and collaborative ways to harness the new promising technologies to strengthen organizational and societal open systems where the social and technical subsystems were optimized within a supportive and resource-rich environmental system. All humans affected by the technology should be considered since "socio-technical systems design valued not just the end user but all operational and nonoperational stakeholders” (Abbas & Michael, 2021, p. 57). Since its advent, the socio-technical theory has been applied to many research studies in a variety of disciplines, including the health professions (Lin et al., 2016;Booth et al., 2017). "Information systems design and implementation is a complex and challenging endeavor that has both technical and social dimensions and requires changes in the behavior of actors, social structures, culture, and processes to succeed. [...]adopting an STS perspective is essential to increase the chances of success by taking into consideration both technical, social, and organizational factors and the interactions between various actors in the healthcare environment” (p. 160).
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The nutritional supplementation for COVID-19 patients' needs to account for the sleep, stress level, anxiety, depression, as well as body mass index of the individual. [...]the main objective of this review was to clearly show the role of nutrition during COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19 with nutrition implications, micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) for Covid-19, the nutrients needed for improving mental well-being during COVID-19 response, and to find out the common brain chemicals that can be affected during stressful conditions like COVID-19. The nutritional supplementation for COVID-19 patients' needs to account for sleep, stress level, anxiety, depression, as well as body mass index of the individual. [...]foods containing serotonin, melatonin, amino acid, and tryptophan are crucial for addressing sleep, anxiety, stress, and depressive symptoms associated with COVID-19 infections. Low vitamin A diets might compromise the effectiveness of inactivated bovine coronavirus vaccines and render calves more susceptible to infectious disease. [...]vitamin A could be a promising option for the treatment of this novel coronavirus and the prevention of lung infection [13]. Both struggling with adapting to the new challenges associated with the pandemic as well as the psychological distress due to COVID-19 are linked to an increased risk of developing an imbalance in brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) which in turn increases the risk of mental health problems. [...]getting foods containing important neurotransmitters is a very important component of the management of patients with COVID-19.
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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic propelled the use of online collaborative platforms to bring diverse individuals together to drive rapid innovation in healthcare. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Hacking Medicine hackathons served as an ideal space for collaborative problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and innovation. We aimed to assess the impact of nurses within MIT-led hackathons, which may provide insight into the value nurses bring to other challenges in healthcare. Methods: An anonymous 25-item Google forms survey was disseminated to the MIT COVID-19 Challenge participants through the SLACK online platform for six MIT-led hackathons in 2020. Results: Out of 65 responses, 48 met the inclusion criteria. Nurses' contributions were considered "very” or "extremely” valuable in helping to identify and break down the problem (85%), and in helping to brainstorm and iterate the solution (88%). The participants were "very” and "extremely” satisfied with the nurses' abilities to be an asset to the team and valuable contributors (88%), knowledgeable (94%), and effective communicators (90%). They recognized the nurses as a source of high-quality information outside the clinical context (92%), indicated an interest in seeking expertise from nurses (90%), seek nurses as a mentor (83%) and as team members (79%). Conclusions: Nurses can make important contributions to teams working on innovative healthcare solutions across the globe via online platforms. Involving them in problem-solving teams should be encouraged.
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Dogs can detect human stress... Children with COVID-19 at higher risk of T1D... ED-ICU not associated with substantially increased costs... Strategies to reduce pediatric deaths by guns... Electronic gaming and pediatric dysrhythmias
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Along with surgeons, anesthesia professionals, and RN circulators, surgical technologists are essential members of the perioperative team. Despite a partnership with a local community college that offered a surgical technologist degree program, Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky, continued to experience a shortage of surgical technologists. To meet demands, the clinical educators at the facility developed an in-house Surgical Technologist Apprentice Program (STAP). The STAP consists of six weeks of didactic learning and hands-on training in an OR simulation laboratory, followed by a six-month preceptorship in the OR. This program has proven invaluable, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for personnel who are not only skilled in the OR but also can provide essential frontline patient care when needed. Together, the STAP and the college partnership offer a career-building opportunity for those in entry-level positions who may not otherwise be able to afford to train for this specialized role.
ABSTRACT
Tutkimuksen tarkoitus: Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kuvata, minkälaisia työhön liittyviä muutoksia sosiaali- ja terveysalan henkilöstölle on koronapandemian myötä tullut ja missä määrin ne ovat kasautuneet samoille työntekijäryhmille. Aineisto ja menetelmät: Aineistona on syksyllä 2020 Suomesta kerätty sosiaali- ja terveysalan työntekijöistä koostuva kyselyaineisto (N=22 528, vastausprosentti 67). Analysoinnissa käytettiin kuvailevia analyysimenetelmiä (prosenttijakaumia ja ristiintaulukointia). Tulokset: Noin kolmannes sosiaali- ja terveysalan henkilöstöstä kokee työmääränsä kasvaneen ja pelänneensä terveytensä puolesta. Lisäksi noin puolet on joutunut käyttämään suojavarusteita ja joutuneensa opettelemaan uusia tietoja ja taitoja. Monet näistä vaikutuksista kasautuvat nuorille, työntekijäasemassa toimiville ja tietyille ammattiryhmille: röntgenhoitajille, sairaanhoitajille, laboratoriohoitajille ja laboranteille, lähi-ja perushoitajille. Päätelmät: Koronakuorma kasautuu tietyille työntekijäryhmille. Jatkossa näiden ryhmien työssäjaksamista ja työhyvinvointia tulee tukea ja toimenpiteitä kohdentaa kyseisille ryhmille. Erityisesti työntekijöiden palautumiseen tulee kiinnittää huomiota sekä tarjota sosiaalista tukea.Alternate :The purpose of the study: The purpose of the study was to describe what kind of work-related changes have occurred among social and health care personnel during the corona pandemic and to what extent these have accumulated to same working groups. Data and methods: We use survey data of Finnish social and health care employees collected in autumn 2020 (N=22 528, response rate 67%). Descriptive statistics (percent distributions and crosstabulations) were used to analyze data. Results: Approximately one third of social and health care employees feel that their workload has increased because of Covid-19 pandemic, and they have feared for the sake of their own health. Furthermore, half of them has had to use protective equipment and to acquire new knowledge and skills. Many of these effects accumulate to young workers, those in employee position and to certain occupational groups: radiologists, nurses, laboratory nurses and laboratory assistants and primary care nurses. Conclusions: Corona burden accumulates to certain working groups. In the future there is need to pay attention to the resilience and well-being of these groups and target actions for them. Especially recovery of these employees needs attention and they should be offered social support.
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Program As part of the plan stage of the PDSA model (Institute for Healthcare Improvement [IHI], n.d.), a unit-based nurse specialist and a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) assessed staff comfort with oral chemotherapy, identification, and safe handing processes by implementing a tip sheet and precaution signage on the project units. Because of inexperience with oral chemotherapy, staff indicated quarterly oral chemotherapy safety tips would be helpful. All efforts were made to conserve PPE, and priority shifted at the project site to developing crisis capacity guidelines by the organization at large. [...]project limitations were in part due to time constraints. [...]staff answers were
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Polio virus, which causes a deadly disease that used to paralyze tens of thousands of children worldwide every year in the 1950s and 60s, is now spreading in London, New York and Jerusalem. It's happening for the first time in decades, spurring catch-up vaccination campaigns. A type 2 virus, related to the strain in the live oral vaccine used overseas, was first identified in samples from sewage works in north London in February. The virus has since been found in eight more treatment plants in different districts of the capital. Decades ago, before the introduction of the polio vaccination programme, up to 8000 people would develop paralysis due to polio every year in the UK.
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In the 6 months preceding the pandemic, the Deputy Chief Nurse and Consultant Nurse for Trauma and Orthopaedics had worked with this group of staff to find commonalities among their roles, and outline the development required to ensure they were recognized for the clear contribution they made to high-quality patient care and improved patient outcomes. The pain management and acute pain management specialist nurses were deployed to critical care, primarily because their workload centered on pain management post-surgery, and many elective procedures had stopped. Both acknowledged the lack of family presence at the end of life was very distressing. If the situation were to arise again, both indicated they would return to critical care: one because overall she felt this was a learning experience, and the other because of the fear of how a refusal may be perceived by others.
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Purpose: Psychological distress in health care workers (HCWs) caring for pediatric patients with cancer was evaluated during the COVID-19 outbreak to inform future perspectives of mental health resources for frontline providers. Design and Methods: A qualitative and quantitative mixed method study was conducted using a semi-structured interview to understand the occupational distress and dilemma of HCWs employed in a pediatric cancer ward. A follow-up survey was used to further validate results. Results: Pediatric oncology HCWs were highly willing to cope with difficulties during the earliest phase of the pandemic. Still, nursing staff perceived more intense psychological distress in comparison with physicians and were challenged to maintain interpersonal communication. Nurses also felt incompetent to prioritize physical distancing. Their negative emotions were further exacerbated with limited help-seeking behavior and professional self-stigma. Conclusions: To foster the mental health resilience and a self-care attitude in a vulnerable subgroup (nursing staff with less than 5 years of professional experience), it is important to provide a broad range of mental health resources, including institutional support and/or digital health tools (e.g., web-based decision aids, online cognitive behavioral therapy, and telemedicine) aimed to meet their diverse psychosocial needs. A series of individualized approaches might be helpful to promote frontline providers' stress-coping strategies as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful.
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It is three years since a cluster of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause was reported in Wuhan in China. Little did many know how soon lives around the world would be upended. Many people now feel that the pandemic is behind them, and very few are still testing regularly, but in reality, Covid is still with them. In fact, a spike with new variants is predicted with some unease by researchers in the field for this winter: quite possibly combined with influenza, to constitute a 'twindemic'. Alongside this, there is an increasing awareness that 'long Covid' can keep people ill or disabled for a considerable length of time. So for any clients sinking into Covid vaccination apathy, it's worth reminding them of the realities, and that studies have suggested vaccination can reduce the risk of long Covid. Research into the immunity required to protect against long Covid, as well as the role of new variants, continues.
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What limited resources there are to support appropriate antimicrobial use focus on public hospitals rather than community health care.6 Ironically, 95 per cent of our antimicrobial use is in the community7 and up to half of this may be inappropriate.8 The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the ongoing high-level initiatives for improving antimicrobial stewardship and the New Zealand antimicrobial prescribing landscape as it stands. The new Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability Services Standard sets minimum AMS requirements that some service providers (eg residential care and public hospitals) must meet to be certified under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act 2001.9 Not all primary care is included in this standard, but this could be rectified by developing a separate clinical care standard for antimicrobial stewardship that applies to all who prescribe, dispense or administer antimicrobials.6 AMS and infection prevention and control (IPC) are two human-health components within a wider New Zealand AMR action plan. Almost none of the recommendations in the 2017 action plan have been put into place, even though the "bar was set low" to see what could be achieved without additional investment.2 Opinion leaders - including Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand AMS pharmacists, infectious disease physicians, clinical microbiologists, IPC nursing specialists and other experts - continue to push for national leadership and coordinated efforts on AMS, most recently in a 2021 New Zealand MedicalJournal viewpoint.6 A key stakeholder group, the New Zealand Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Pharmacist Expert Group (NAMSIPEG), has also led promotion of good AMS practices and activities for World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW).11 For 2020, it led a national initiative to improve indication documentation on antimicrobial prescriptions, and for 2021 a national initiative focusing on penicillin allergy.12,13,14 These are component parts to AMS and are applicable in primary care. Prescribing landscape for antimicrobials in Aotearoa New Zealand The implications of AMR for New Zealanders and the imminent threat it represents have been made plain by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 201715 and the Office of the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor in 2021.2 Estimates suggest, without urgent action, infections due to resistant microorganisms could kill 10 million people globally each year by 2050.16 Using a predictive model, a systematic analysis published this year in The Lancet has already estimated that approximately 6.3 million deaths globally in 2019 were attributable to, or associated with, bacterial AMR.17 The consequences of increases in AMR for New Zealand will be enormous, given the reliance we have on effective antimicrobial therapy throughout medicine.