The BACCN and COVID: What have we learned?

Abstract

In the unparalleled and extraordinary public health emergency in which we find ourselves, across the world, nurses stand, as they always do, at the front line. Nurses account for more than half of all the world's health care workers, 1 providing vital services throughout the health care system. Around the world, they are demonstrating their compassion, bravery, and courage as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and never has their value been more clearly demonstrated. Extreme measures were taken to boost the critical care nursing workforce, with retired staff, Operating Department Practitioners, theatre, recovery, and ward nurses asked to join the critical care frontline. 2,3 The current situation will undoubtedly take its toll on

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“…New ICUs were opened in Turkey to meet the increasing need for intensive care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, healthcare workers who had not previously worked in ICUs were assigned to these units [11] However, the fast transition to unfamiliar workplace settings and inadequate preparation to practice may lead to high levels of stress and anxiety among healthcare workers, as they may feel unprepared for the challenges of working in an ICU [12] In this process, a variety of written and visual materials were provided by different nursing associations to support critical care nurses and other professionals, such as training modules, infographics, and videos [13].…”