Introduction
Setting up intensive care units (ICUs) with non-critical care nurses can be more challenging than we can think it is beneficial. The article Rapid Deployment of Critical Care Nurse Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Marks et al. (2021) explains the clinical support and training needed by non-ICU nurses to handle critical COVID-19 patients in a new care facility established in the United States New York. The new facility brought together non-ICU nurses and ICU nurses, taking the form of critical care education specialists (CCEs) and experienced buddies (Marks et al., 2021). However, because treatment began at the same time as setting up the facility, it was not possible to conduct regular training to enlighten non-ICU nurses before practicing as ICU nurses. The shortage of ICU resources and care specialists limits alternatives, which made the COVID-19 care facility in New York and elsewhere in the world resort to using non-ICU nurses. The lack of skills among non-ICU nurses created the need to organize in-practice educational programs to equip them with the necessary skills for ICU performance. The article focuses on a suitable model for delivering such education, say a team-based model. Therefore, before deploying non-ICU nurses to work in ICUs, there is a need to train them using the appropriate model, as succinctly discussed in this reflection paper.
Main body
Healthcare practitioners providing care in ICUs should be equipped with the requisite skills. As such, ICU nurses are the ones with the required competence. Emergencies such as one caused by the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 virus can create impromptu healthcare needs such as an increased number of ICU nurses. With a shortage of ICU nurses, it becomes necessary to utilize non-ICU nurses. When non-ICU nurses are tasked with ICU nurses’ roles, they should be trained to acquire essential skills for optimal performance. Ideally, it is advised healthcare practitioners in ICUs should either be ICU nurses or trained non-ICU nurses (Marks et al., 2021). Such education encompasses employing a distributed practice approach with small groups and using critical care education specialists and the buddy system to support non-ICU nurses in the critical care context—the so-called team approach.
Having trained non-critical care nurses to deliver services in the COVID-19 patients’ ICUs is important in myriads of ways. The COVID-19 critical care units pose more challenges that require nurse competence to overcome. These shortcomings include difficulty in infection control, resource limitation, the need to protect oneself as a nurse, and adaptation of services to the rapidly evolving Coronavirus situation. Training programs prepare not only prepare non-ICU nurses for transition into critical care nurses, but it also enables them to be more knowledgeable and acquire the confidence to answer questions and explain things (Marks et al., 2021). Unlike non-critical care nurses, trained ICU nurses are well-acquainted with numerous things. For example, trained non-ICU nurses may be able to identify drips that paralyze people, an uncommon knowledge among non-ICU nurses who are not trained (Marks et al., 2021). Simulation coupled with a debriefing in training programs mitigate non-ICU nurses’ stress.
The findings of the reviewed study are applicable when delivering training programs in the wake of an emergency such as the COVID-19 crisis, which required a surge in critical care nurses. As suggested in the article, it is ambient to encourage non-critical care nurses to transition into ICU nurses in the face of a health crisis. In implementing such programs, it is vital to use distributed practice model with small groups, which is narrowed down to nurse clinical care support and didactic instruction (Marks et al., 2021). Moreover, the education model that is good for adoption includes shorter, more frequent training besides engaging non-ICU nurses in hands-on experiences. Hand-on experiences actualized through simulations would enhance psychological perception realia in training, and through it, non-ICU nurses get a safe environment for practicing newly acquired skills. Indeed, when facing an emergency, more critical care nurses are needed, and this can only be achieved by equipping non-ICU nurses with skills to practice as ICU nurses.
Dealing with COVID-19 presented a tight situation coupled with many surprising events. One of the events is revealed in the reviewed article. Surprisingly, non-ICU nurses were shifted to work in the COVID-19 ICU unit set up in New York City without training them (Marks et al., 2021). Ordinarily, these nurses were subjected to an awkward environment where they survived in their duties, which were dominated by a trial-and-error approach before they were trained. Honestly, the provision of care in ICUs is crucial to be trusted in the hands of inexperienced individuals.
Summary
In summary, non-ICU nurses can only adapt to providing critical care by accessing clinical support and training. Clinical support is provided by a buddy system or critical care education specialist. On the other hand, the most suitable training approach is didactic since it enables non-critical care nurses to learn new skills and can also be enhanced through distributed practice. Undeniably, distributed practice allows educators to have sessions with the small group, making it possible to have hands-on experiences. The reviewed article has addressed a shocking situation of non-ICU nurses providing critical care in the COVID-19 ICU in New York City without training. Care in ICUs is too sensitive to be left in the hands of health practitioners with minimal experience.
Reference
Marks, S., Edwards, S., & Jerge, E. H. (2021). Rapid deployment of critical care nurse education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse Leader, 19(2), 165-169.