Innovative Partnership Between Intensive Care Unit Nurses and Therapists to Care for Patients With COVID-19

Activity Summary

Required reading for all learners: Implicit Bias impacts patient outcomes

In response to the critical care needs of patients with COVID-19 and the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ICU nurses, a level I trauma hospital deployed physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OT) to partner with ICU nurses to help provide daily care for severely ill patients with COVID-19. The group, known as the special operations (SO) team, had 3 specific objectives: 1) to aid the nurses caring for the high-acuity patients with COVID-19 in the ICU; (2) to make the available PTs and OTs more productive; and (3) to use the clinical expertise of PTs and OTs to improve outcomes among patients with COVID-19. This article describes the implementation and positive patient, nursing, PT and OT outcomes of the SO program.

Objectives

Describe the development and implementation of a special team of therapists who aided ICU nurses during the first critical wave of COVID.
Analyze the effectiveness of the team through hours saved for nurses as well as number of activities performed per day over time.
Describe the perception of the team through comments and quotes from both the nursing staff and therapists.

Continuing Education Disclosure Statement

Successful Completion

Learners must attend/view/read the entire activity, read Implicit Bias impacts patient outcomes, and complete the associated evaluation to be awarded the contact hours or CERP. No partial credit will be awarded.

Accreditation

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider number CEP 1036, for 1.00 contact hours.

Accreditation refers to recognition of continuing education only and does not imply AACN, ANCC, or CBRN approval or endorsement of any commercial products discussed or displayed in conjunction with this educational activity.

Disclosure

Any relevant relationship between an ineligible company and an individual with the ability to influence clinical content will be identified by the Nurse Planner within the activity. Any relevant relationship between an ineligible company and an individual with the ability to influence clinical content has been mitigated.

AACN programming meets the standards for most states that require mandatory continuing education contact hours for license and/or certification renewal. AACN recommends consulting with your state board of nursing or credentialing organization before submitting CE to fulfill continuing education requirements.

Refund Policy

Continuing Education Activities are nonrefundable.