HJBR Sep/Oct 2021

with Florence Nightingale, who is consid- ered the “mother of nursing”: intellectual curiosity, resilience, compassion, caring and, especially over the past few months, cour- age. Nurses are working tirelessly to ben- efit the health, safety and well-being of our state. They are true super heroes building a legacy of excellence. In closing, I’d like to address what it will take for transitioning our healthcare sys- tems toward future practices that demon- strate respect and value for nurses and all employees. First, transparent communica- tions are essential. Especially during crises, leaders must have a proactive staffing plan that can be adjusted in times of need. The care team needs to be involved in devel- oping that plan and communicating it throughout the agency. Next, let’s address visible leadership. Clinical leadership needs to be visible on the units throughout all shifts providing care support as well as emotional support, especially tomore junior nurses. Third, maintain support for the care team, including counseling services, mental health support and encouraging the use of your employee assistance program. Con- duct regular and open sessions to discuss how we can help our staff maintain resil- ience. Debrief with nurses after especially traumatizing events, allowing them the opportunity to express their sorrow, grief and anger. Finally, balance your staff; that is, pair more experienced staff with younger staff members. Develop buddy systems where seasoned, tenured professionals are paired with new graduates to help develop the leaders of tomorrow. What other strategies can help support nurses during these trying times? First, the public should remember that nurses are human, too, with family and financial stressors that complicate their care delivery. They are neither heroes nor villains. They are tired and frustrated when they know that masking and vaccination could have prevented this fourth surge, yet our citizens continue to resist acting responsibly. When things don’t go well, we should all demon- strate grace and forgiveness. Nurses should also engage in self-care activities that will help them reset their emotional thermometer. Meditation, yoga, outdoor exercise, spending time with family, journaling and guided imagery are all activi- ties that will enhance our well-being. Sleep is essential, including naps, and proper nutrition, hydration and engaging in our hobbies will help keep us balanced. My final words aren’t my words at all but something I heard FrankWelch, MD, medi- cal director of the LDHOffice of Emergency Preparedness say on August 4, 2021 at our regularly scheduled meeting of the COVID- 19 Vaccine Partners: “Masking gets us out of this surge; vaccination will make sure it doesn’t happen again.” If you know a nurse, if you have been cared for by a nurse, if you have a nurse in the family, or if you love a nurse, mask up and get vaccinated. Those two simple actions will do more to restore nurses’faith in humanity than anything else you could do. n REFERENCES 1. Barna, A. (2021) “How to Manage Burnout and Ensure Quality Care.” American Organization for Nursing Leadership, 2021 Annual Conference. American Hospital Association Virtual Confer- ence. 2. Kemker, A. (2021) Stretched to the max, nurses in need of reinforcements as La. breaks COVID-19 hospitalization record (wafb.com) 3. Louisiana State Board of Nursing (2020). “Nurse Supply Report 2020”. Louisiana Center for Nursing. 4. Rainbow, J., Littzen, C., and Gelt, J. (2021) “Nurse Burnout: The Next COVID-19 Crisis?” University of Arizona College of Nursing. Nurse Burnout: The Next COVID-19 Crisis? | University of Arizona College of Nursing 5. Paterson, B. (2021). “’The worst possible step’: Louisiana doctors fear they’ll have to ration care amid COVID surge. The Advocate, Baton Rouge. August 6, 2021. 6. Paterson, B. “‘The worst possible step’: Louisi- ana doctors fear they’ll have to ration care amid COVID surge.” The Advocate, Baton Rouge. Aug. 6, 2021. “NURSES ARE WORKING TIRELESSLY TO BENEFIT THE HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF OUR STATE. THEY ARE TRUE SUPER HEROES BUILDING A LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE.” HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE I  SEP / OCT 2021 29