Workplace hazards are one of the most prevalent nursing issues in the 21st century. In this, nurses are exposed to myriad hazards in hospitals which in the long run make it difficult for them to pursue their careers and deliver services effectively. Some of the hazards include physical injuries caused by overexertion, infections and chemical hazards and emotional distress. Since the outbreak of Covid 19, nurses across the globe have been greatly challenged when delivering care to patients. The current coronavirus disease pandemic has forced all health care workers, including nurse practitioners and advanced practice registered nurses, to give unparalleled care to patients. The pandemic has made it more difficult for nurses to maintain their careers due to its constant health threats. This fact, combined with the severe shortage of available nurses, has caused everyone great anxiety. During the pandemic, preventing intensive care units from getting overwhelmed, avoiding new infections, and teaching employees safe exercise in a fast-switching environment are significant challenges (Diez-Sampedro et al., 2020). Because of the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus that causes a severe acute respiratory syndrome, personal protective equipment shortage and shift in the health care delivery approaches, policy changes and testing protocols has posited major hazards to nurses. These hazards have resulted in many nurses contracting Covid 19, emotional distress and, to some extent causing the death of the infected nurses.
Most APRNs working in hospitals have shifted their attention from their expertise to providing health care to patients infected with Coronavirus (Diez-Sampedro et al., 2020). Emergency legislation has been enacted in various areas to speed up nurse licensing while simultaneously broadening the scope of practice for both APRNs and physician assistants. While the current pandemic’s legislative and policy reforms present a road ahead for APRNs to gain full practice authority, they come when most practitioners are struggling to establish and maintain safe clinical care. APRNs put their patients and their health and safety at risk if they do not have access to PPE.
Reference
Diez-Sampedro, A., Gonzalez, A., Delgado, V., Flowers, M., Maltseva, T., & Olenick, M. (2020). COVID-19 and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses: Frontline Update. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16(8), 551-555.
