December 11 at Lincoln South Rotary - Kari Wade

What has been happening with the pandemic - what we are facing - is no less than harsh and raw - but it is true.

 

This was supposed to be "The Year Of The Nurse. In November 19, 2019 the World Health Organization declared that we would celebrate the good work of our nurses. Instead of a celebration, we were faced with difficult challenges. The new reality is COVID-19.

 

Kari stated that this has changed the world of nursing dramatically. Suddenly they were engulfed in chaos. She described it as a web of unknown.

 

The way they were practicing was changing. Everything they had been doing was based on sound evidence and science. When COVID-19 hit, there wasn't the information needed to know how to treat the patients. They were only treating the symptoms. 

 

They were also suddenly wearing PPE head-to-toe. They had to learn how to work in their new "uniforms". And the PPE wasn't always available. So, they had to learn how to take care of what they had, cleaning their masks, putting them in zip loc bags and using them over and over. 

 

There was also conflicting information - how was it spread - droplet, contact? How long do the germs live - 3 days - 7 days? It was difficult for the health officials and public to stay informed. There was tremendous chaos and everything was in question.

 

With the head-to-toe PPE, often all the patient can see of a nurse is their eyes. And, the nurses were staring COVID-19 in the face with those eyes.

 

By summer things were beginning to unravel. There was finally some science based treatment guidelines. There was a great deal of collaboration in the health industry. Luckily by the time the surge hit the midwest, much had been learned about treating the disease.

 

The issues now are mostly physical and mental strain.

 

When treating critically ill patients, a nurse can only be assigned to a couple. With shortage of staff and increase in patients it is difficult to care for them. They work long hours and have also had to bring in some traveling nurses. The mental strain is exhausting - the nurse is the one with the patient day in and day out. And, since there are visitation limitations, the nurse often sits with the patient - unfortunately until they die.

 

There is so much death in the United States and it is taking an emotional toll. As of December 10, 6 days have been documented as being in the top 10 most deadly days in US History - that includes 911 and wars.

3411 on December 10

3055 on December 9

2630 on December 8

2637 on December 4

2857 on December 3

2885 on December 2

 

There are challenges but also opportunities ahead - such as the development of the vaccine. Unfortunately the drug trials cannot test for every possible scenario so we still have some things we will learn once the vaccine begins to be distributed.

 

Kari provided us with information about the Nebraska Nurses Association. It has been around since 1906 and is the state chapter of the American Nurses Association. It includes nurses from all specialties and settings.

 

NNA Mission: advance our profession to improve health for all

NNA Vision: serve as a proactive voice for nurses and advocate for improved health for all

NNA Core Priorities: collaboration, advocacy, recognition, education

 

BIO:
Kari has been a Registered Nurse in Nebraska for 20 years. She is a long-time member of NNA and has served as an active member and in leadership roles for the Political Action Committee and the Legislative, Advocacy, and Representation Committee for NNA. Kari has also held multiple Board positions in additional professional organizations such as the Midwest Nursing Research Society and Sigma Theta Tau International, the honor society of nursing. In 2019, Kari was awarded Nebraska Nurse of the Year for Academics by the March of Dimes Nebraska and Western Iowa Chapter. Currently, Kari is an Associate Professor of Doctoral Studies at Nebraska Methodist College.