51茶馆

August 13, 2021

Communication, leadership inspired ICU nurses to keep working during first COVID crisis

New research into nurses’ resilience conducted during lockdown of 2020

We are all in this together. It is a familiar refrain that has been repeated countless times throughout the past 18 months as the world came to grips with the COVID-19 pandemic.

But it has been particularly true for nurses, who have continued to go above and beyond throughout the health crisis.

New research from the 51茶馆 (UOW), published in Intensive & Critical Care Nursing, has shown that in the early days of the pandemic, as the world grappled with the unfamiliarity and the challenges of the coronavirus, nurses in intensive care units were willing to provide care for patients with COVID-19.

The paper was co-authored by Professor and Professor , both from UOW鈥檚 School of Nursing, UOW PhD student Heidi Lord, and Clare Loveday from St George Hospital.

The research was conducted among nursing staff at a large hospital in Sydney, in March and April of 2020.

Professor Ritin Fernandez said ICU nurses demonstrated immense care and professionalism in the early days of the pandemic.

鈥淚n ICU, nurses are truly at the front line of a health crisis. They are providing care to critically ill patients, even when they are concerned about their own risk and that of their family.鈥�

Regardless of their age, gender, or years of experience, the research showed nurses were largely willing to put the health and care of their patients ahead of their concern for or risk to their own health.

Sixty per cent of respondents indicated they would provide nursing care for a COVID-19 patient in ICU, at a time when community concern and fear about the pandemic was incredibly high.

One of the fundamental reasons they felt comfortable in their role was due to the level of communication with and the trust they had in their leadership.

鈥淭he study found effective communication from their leaders was really key to providing the nurses with the information they needed. At the time, the situation was changing minute by minute, and the ICU nurses felt their leaders were giving them timely and succinct information about COVID-19 and caring for a patient with COVID-19,鈥� Professor Fernandez said.

鈥淚t is the main reason why they continued to work in ICU during the pandemic, because they felt very confident in their leadership. The study shows that communication is incredibly important during a public health emergency.鈥�

Professor Fernandez said nurses have demonstrated tremendous resilience throughout the pandemic and into the current outbreak, at a time when people鈥檚 fears are once again heightened and the media environment is intense.

鈥淲e often think, 鈥榯hey鈥檙e nurses, it鈥檚 their job to look after people鈥�. But the truth is that a nurse can choose to work anywhere. If they do not want to work in ICU, they can work in a different part of the hospital which is at a lower risk for COVID-19 infections,鈥� she said.

鈥淏ut they decided to continue working in ICU, in a position that risked their health and that of their family, which was a huge concern for them, even as the country was in a really uncertain time,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e know more about the disease now, and nurses understand it better. That resilience is still there, they continue to provide exceptional care.鈥� 

The findings from the research will help to inform future healthcare responses to the pandemic, and demonstrate the importance of effective communication in times of crisis.

鈥淲e all say that we are in this together, but it is nurses who put that into action,鈥� Professor Fernandez said.

鈥淣urses will put their hands up every single time if it鈥檚 in the best interest of their patients.鈥�

About the research

鈥楨ffective communication is key to intensive care nurses鈥� willingness to provide nursing care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic鈥�, by Heidi Lord, Clare Loveday, Lorna Moxham, and Ritin Fernandez, was published in Intensive & Critical Care Nursing.