COVID-19: Nurses have responded, now it is time to support them as we move forward

The inspiration for The American Nurse Project, Dr. Rhonda Collins, DNP, RN, FAAN, is Chief Nursing Officer for Vocera Communications. Every year around Nurses Week, Dr. Collins publishes a report examining important issues that impact the nursing profession worldwide. Her 2020 CNO report looks at many of the challenges impacting nurses before, during, and after COVID-19—highlighting the mental anguish and physical burdens that COVID-19 has placed on nurses and other frontline healthcare workers as they put themselves in harm’s way to protect others. Dr. Collins examines the foundation of cognitive science and outlines a three-point strategy to guide hospital and nurse leaders moving forward as they strive to support staff members: lightening clinicians’ cognitive load by addressing the difference between documentation and communication, relieving the burden of adapting to multiple systems by giving clinicians control over how they communicate, and providing clinicians with clear, contextual, just-in-time information—using software to enhance workflow, not distract from it. During these unprecedented times, health leaders can honour nurses by providing them with the tools to help strengthen resiliency and healing from this crisis.