Fawaz, M., Anshasi, H., & Samaha, A. (2020). Nurses at the Front Line of COVID 19: Roles, Responsibilities, Risks, and Rights. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 103, 4, 1341-1342.
Nurses’ critical role and responsibility are to ensure patients receive personalized, high-quality services regardless of their infectious condition. Due to that, nurses continue to be at the front line of patient care in health facilities and are actively involved in monitoring and evaluating the community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on the 2015 American Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Nurses, adhering to clause 2 of the code enables nurses to commit to the patient’s needs. Moreover, based on clause 5, nurses have similar responsibilities to themselves and their fellow workers. Therefore, during Covid-19, nurses have been responsible for ensuring that while they care for patient’s needs, they must take care of themselves too to avoid the possibility of getting the infection.
The misconception is that since nurses are on the front line against the pandemic and are prone to catch or spread the virus can result in conflict in attempts to respond to public health issues. Nurses, their managers, and instructors must use guidelines and support to maintain their vital function in delivering public awareness regarding the prevention of Covid-19 and disseminating the myth about the pandemic. Therefore, nursing management must provide nurses with a judgment-free, healthy work environment that empowers them in their efforts against the pandemic and comment on accidents like body fluids, abuse reports, and infection control risks. Since nurses are at risk of getting infected, nursing management must provide nurses with security steps and appropriate prevention to minimize workplace dangers. Likewise, nurses must be expected to assert their right to withdraw from a job arrangement if they have sufficient reasons to conclude they are at risk based on their assignments. I might use this source for the role of nurses in managing Covid-19 disseminating the misconception about the possibility of nurses getting and spreading the virus since they are protected against the pandemic.