I’m not sharing this info as a macabre version of State of Origin or the Bledisloe Cup. It’s not a competition. It’s certainly not a game. Thousands of families across the world are in mourning.
Nevertheless, it is useful to have a benchmark of how we are faring. To give us perspective it’s useful to compare progress across areas/populations. As per the list below, Queensland’s population size compares better to New Zealand, Ireland, Norway and Singapore than other Australian states and territories.
Population Comparison (Australian states/territories + selected countries, small to large) Northern Territory 245,000 Australian Capital Territory 428,000 Tasmania 535,000 South Australia 1.75 million Western Australia 2.63 million New Zealand 4.82 million Ireland 4.94 million Queensland 5.11 million Norway 5.37 million Singapore 5.85 million Victoria 6.63 million New South Wales 8.12 million
So What?
Hopefully, the encouraging data in this chart serves as an anxiolytic for Queensland health workers and their patients. That’s the intent.
Compared to many countries Australia and New Zealand are doing very well with the whole #COVID19 thing.
Reminder: If you’re 20 points up before half time in the Bledisloe Cup don’t start celebrating victory. Stick with the game plan. #COVID19nz#COVID19auhttps://t.co/x2zctvY4qc
At this point in time (the beginning of April 2020) PPE is popping-up in news and social media feeds frequently. Understandably, with the outbreak of the #COVID19 pandemic, clinicians are much more conscious of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) than usual. Even crusty old mental health nurses like me have revisited and refreshed our knowledge on PPE.
That’s sensible. It’s also sensible to acknowledge that there’s more than one type of PPE.
Positive Practice Environment (PPE)
Today some nurses who work on a ward receiving patients suspected/confirmed to have COVID-19 identified elements that are contributing to their ward working well. Although there’s still some anxiety, of course, generally it is a PPE (positive practice environment). Some of the things nursing staff identified were:
Team Nursing. The RNs highlighted this as a part of the PPE. In a team you never feel like it’s your burden to bear alone, there’s someone to check with donning and doffing personal protective equipment, and there’s always someone to help if you’re in the isolation room and need something extra.
Communication. Communciation within the nursing team, and between the nursing staff and senior medical staff is much better than usual. Regular meetings both formal and informal are really helpful.
Working Smarter. For example: before entering an isolation room, call the patient on their bedside/mobile phone to see if they need anything extra. Similarly, making an arrangement with the patient that they can buzz or phone if they need anything. Increased use of phone = decreased frequency of entering isolation room = decreased use of personal protective equipment.
Getting Smarter. Asking questions and brainstorming solutions. Everyone acknowledges that they aren’t experienced or experts in pandemics, and that collaborative care is the only way to problem-solve the way forward. Patients generate solutions too
Staying Focused. There is so much information swirling about regarding COVID-19, that it is important to limit the sources and exposure. We need to trust the health department that employs us to give us the correct information at the correct time. We can’t afford the time or mental/emotional energy to look at everything that’s out there.
Downtime is Sacred. When everything at work seems to have a COVID-19 twist to it, it’s important to shield against overload. Strategies include:
Don’t watch the news, watch a movie.
Be careful how much time we spend in the social media echo chamber.
Switch off social media and the TV and listen to music.
Ask friends and family not to use “the C word” around you.
Downtime is Sacred.
Three Final Thoughts
One
It’s not just about wearing PPE (as in personal protection equipment) it’s about creating a PPE (as in positive practice environment) too. Nobody pretends for a moment that there are not more and/or better ideas than those above, but being intentional about both lots of PPE is helping.
Two
What’s more contagious: COVID-19 or anxiety?
Three
I can’t believe that it’s been less than 2 months since the term “COVID-19” was first coined. It has infected nearly every news article and conversation since early February 2020.
“Clean Hands. Clear Head.” is an animation of a mindfulness script that distills the content of my 2016 blog post “Hand Hygiene and Mindful Moments” into a short (less than 2 minutes) video. The voice part was recorded on an iPhone at a hospital sink #authentic. The visuals were done on Prezi.
Addit 29/03/20: to my surprise, some people want a text version. I won’t write out the whole thing (too long, a bit dull), but below are some key phrases:
This is my mindful moment. The anxiety and tension will be washed away. I will rub in the resilience and kindness that sustains me. After 20 seconds or so I will pretend I’m TayTay, and shake it off. 🙂 I will smile, then will intentionally slow my breathing. Me and my hands will be safe.
Feels free to use/modify PRN. I would be grateful for source attribution as “meta4RN.com/head”
Just in case it’s handy here is a PDF: CleanHandsClearHead
And here is a MS Word version: CleanHandsClearHead
Part 2. Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments. March 2020 version.
On a related topic, for the last few years I’ve facilitated many hour-long, interactive sessions called “Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments.” for my fellow nurses at the hospital where I work. As at March 2020, I’m not confident that we’ll have an opportunity to meet face-to-face as a group all that often, so I’ve tweaked the session, tried to cut-down on the rambling, and have switched from hour-long interactive, to 20 minutes of well-intentioned, a tad-amateurish, youtube video embedded below:
Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments. March 2020 version. (video, 20 mins)
Here’s a link to the Prezi version of “Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments. March 2020 version”: prezi.com/xcejt9pgd0b3
Part 3. References & Resources.
I’m recycling and combining a lot of old ideas for the March 2020 version of “Self Care: Surviving Emotionally Taxing Work Environments.” Self-plagiarism? Nah – it’s a groovy remix of some favourite old songs. Regular visitors to meta4RN.com may recognise the repetition, and be quite bored with me using the website as a place to store updated versions of old stuff. Sorry about that, but it’s just so damn convenient. 🙂
Here are the resources and references used in the presentation: (because I’m recycling old ideas this list is ridiculously self-referential).
Australian College of Mental Health Nurses [www.acmhn.org], Australian College of Nursing [www.acn.edu.au], and Australian College of Midwives [www.midwives.org.au] (2019) Joint Position Statement: Clinical Supervision for Nurses + Midwives. Released online April 2019, PDF available via each organisation’s website, and here: ClinicalSupervisionJointPositionStatement
Eales, Sandra. (2018). A focus on psychological safety helps teams thrive. InScope, No. 08., Summer 2018 edition, published by Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union on 13/12/18, pages 58-59. Eales2018
Emotional Aftershocks (the story of Fire Extinguisher Guy & Nursing Ring Theory) meta4RN.com/aftershocks
Lalochezia (getting sweary doesn’t necessarily mean getting abusive) meta4RN.com/lalochezia
Nurse & Midwife Support nmsupport.org.au phone 1800 667 877
– we have specifically targeted 24/7 confidential support available
Nurses, Midwives, Medical Practitioners, Suicide and Stigma (re the alarming toll of those who undertake emotional labour) meta4RN.com/stigma
Nurturing the Nurturers (the Pit Head Baths and clinical supervision stories) meta4RN.com/nurturers
Queensland Health. (2009). Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services. PDF
Spector, P., Zhiqing, Z. & Che, X. (2014) Nurse exposure to physical and nonphysical violence, bullying, and sexual harassment: A quantitative review. International Journal of Nursing Studies. Vol 50(1), pp 72-84. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020748913000357
Chen, R., Sun, C., Chen, J.‐J., Jen, H.‐J., Kang, X.L., Kao, C.‐C. & Chou, K.‐R. (2020), A Large‐Scale Survey on Trauma, Burnout, and Posttraumatic Growth among Nurses during the COVID‐19 Pandemic. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. doi.org/10.1111/inm.12796
End
Thanks for visiting. Let’s join the kindness pandemic to offset some of the crap that goes with the COVID19 pandemic.
As always, your feedback is welcome in the comments section below.
Stay safe.
Paul McNamara, 25 March 2020, with an update on 8 December 2020
meta4RN 