Nurses were in scarce supply before Covid-19, and the pandemic has made the shortage of nursing staff more apparent. Healthcare workers are up to seven times more likely to get Covid-19 than people in other professions, with nurses more vulnerable than doctors, pharmacists, and workers elsewhere in the medical field.
Demand for nurses continues to outstrip supply, and this gap will widen over the coming years. Fewer people are willing to commit themselves to a profession that puts their lives at such great risk. Why are nurses so vulnerable?
Nurses work on the frontline
When sick patients arrive at a medical facility, their first point of contact is typically a nurse who assesses their condition and directs them toward help. At this stage, there is no way of knowing whether a patient is infectious, and at this point of contact, nurses are vulnerable to transmission. Hospitals that do not supply adequate PPE (personal protective equipment), such as surgical masks and gloves, hand sanitizer, and protective eyewear for nurses from Tidi Products, put their nursing staff at even higher risk.
Nurses themselves may spread an illness if they cannot change their PPE regularly due to a supply shortage. They are also in line for prolonged contact with bacteria and viruses, becoming more susceptible to infection.
Nurses work long hours
Depending on their healthcare facility’s policies, nurses work 8-12-hour shifts. They spend most of this time on their feet, sitting only for short breaks or to complete administrative tasks. It is demanding work that causes fatigue. Many nurses work extra shifts to cover for staff shortages or sick colleagues, and it is no wonder that they are exhausted. Sometimes, nurses work double shifts, meaning they are on duty for 16-24-hour periods.
Working while tired is dangerous as mistakes are easy to make. A slip-up could cost a patient’s life in a life-or-death situation, such as that in a hospital. In this run-down state, a nurse’s immune system is compromised, making them more likely to get sick if exposed to germs.
Nurses work under great stress
Nurses do not contend with files and pieces of paper in their day-to-day jobs. They have the very real responsibility of working with human lives, and their decisions could have long-lasting effects on their patients. Additionally, nurses are exposed to the trauma of seeing patients who are horrifically injured or die in their care.
Working while experiencing such high stress levels is also detrimental to a nurse’s health. Stress can lead to conditions like hypertension and heart disease if it is not managed. Many nurses work their shifts while feeling overwhelming anxiety, and some have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
Nurses are compassionate
The calling to be a nurse is a unique one and requires much empathy and compassion. Nurses are the ones who sit with dying Covid-19 patients to ensure they do not die alone. In most cases, these patients’ families are not there to say goodbye.
By spending those last minutes with a patient, nurses make themselves more vulnerable to infection. However, few professionals could walk away from this situation and stay even though it poses a risk to their health.
Nurses do not always look after themselves
Since nurses are taken for granted in many medical facilities, they do not receive the same considerations as doctors despite working just as hard and under equally trying circumstances. Many nurses are so focused on caring for others that they neglect themselves.
They forgo sufficient sleep and exercise and follow a healthy diet in their quest to follow their calling. This could lead to nurses developing conditions like type 2 diabetes, depression, and insomnia.