CEO's Corner - August 2021

It certainly is disheartening and maddening to see the fourth COVID wave marching through our communities, our towns and cities, and our states, not to mention other areas of the globe. I know many of you are all frustrated, tired, overwhelmed, and distressed at the thought of a fourth wave. I know I am.

In anticipation of the increase in patients with COVID-19, I wanted to remind you about the resources AMSN compiled over the course of the pandemic and some new things we’ve rolled out for you. AMSN released a COVID assessment for nurses and facilities last year.

This award-winning assessment allows nurses to complete a self-assessment specific to the competencies required to care for COVID-19 patients. This self-assessment can help facilities place travel nurses or float staff in the right practice setting. We also developed a pocket guide of common med-surg patient issues for nurses that might be unfamiliar with the med-surg setting.

Further, we developed a model for team nursing that can be used to manage the workflow in your practice setting. You can find all these resources here.

If you feel you aren’t practicing in a work environment that is safe for you or your patients, AMSN developed a COVID-19 safety checklist for nurses. This checklist assists you with the actions and resources necessary to advocate within your workplace.

We are here to help with your staffing needs during the COVID-19 crisis and has developed the AMSN Staffing Toolkit.

It Includes:

* Self-Assessment Survey
* Staffing Model & Template
* Educational Resources for Your Staff.

Lastly, we have some education that is relevant for COVID-19. Here’s a list of the webinars/convention sessions/journal articles you might want to watch/listen to/read:

• A Multi-Modal Approach to Improve Communication in the Inpatient Setting during COVID-19 (amsn.org)
• COVID Power Talk: Taking Stock during a Pandemic (amsn.org)
• Parallel Pandemics: The 1918 Spanish Flu and 2020 COVID-19 (amsn.org)
• Early Recognition of Clinical Deterioration in Non-ICU COVID Care (amsn.org)
• COVID-19: One Year into the Pandemic (amsn.org)
• EBP when the Evidence Is Evolving (amsn.org)
• Managing Nursing Care in a Pandemic (amsn.org)
• Coping Through the Crisis: An Introduction to EFT for Bedside Nurses (amsn.org)
• Nurse Suicide (amsn.org)
• Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (amsn.org)

Now for What’s New!

AMSN is on Spotify! We’ve compiled a playlist of our official podcast, Med-Surg Moments. This playlist features the podcasts that deal with COVID-19 issues, and we’ve put them all together in one place for you. Remember to leave us a review on those platforms, too. Your reviews help other nurses find us more easily in their podcast search.

We’re also collecting songs from all of you to make up a Med-Surg playlist, so be sure to submit your songs. What song gets you ready for your shift? What songs do you have to listen to on the way home? We can’t wait to collect your songs and share them with our other members. To that end, I shared one song to our Spotify account; you can listen to it here.

Lastly, if you’re struggling, it’s no wonder. Please seek help if you need it. This past year and a half have been unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. AMSN has compiled resources to help you, and you can find them here. If you feel you need professional help, please check out Emotional PPE. They’re a non-profit organization connecting health care providers with mental health resources confidentially and free of charge.