Table 3 Teamwork in pressure cooker: pressures faced and associated subthemes
From: Healthcare team resilience during COVID-19: a qualitative study
Pressures faced | Exemplary quotes |
|---|---|
Risk of COVID-19 exposure | “It’s actually really hard to not contaminate yourself—so I think that’s the hardest thing.” (P2, MDA) |
“We were always unprotected.” (P7, CRNA) | |
“I was always very, very careful to be really good about getting my PPE right and keeping my hands clean—to do everything that I could not to catch it [COVID].” (P16, RN COVID ICU) | |
Lack of COVID-19 testing | “I mean, we were all exposed at one point, and I’ve never even gotten a COVID test.” (P5, RN ENDO) |
“A lot of times there’s no option to get them [nurses and doctors] tested fast enough for them to not miss their shift—I think the two biggest things that would have improved patient and staff safety and still would improve patient and staff safety are one testing capability.” (P8, ER MD) | |
“What we had to be very careful— there was a shortage of test media or swabs.” (P11, CEO) | |
They weren’t being tested.” (P17, RN PACU) | |
Rapid policy and procedure changes | “Trying to get reaccustomed to the changes that had occurred with the needs that had to be met was very difficult.” (P10, RN ENDO) |
“Things were changing fast; the CDC came out with things several times a day and we flexed and changed.” (P11, MDA) | |
Personnel shortages | “You need a lot more hands on deck to do it [patient care]—because there needs to be someone on the outside who’s clean and can run and get you things.” (P4, RN PACU) |
“Staff [nurses] have walked out—they can’t take it anymore.” (P2, MDA) | |
“My new normal day to day—I [requested] my boss to add positions—to deal with all of the COVID stuff.” (P22, MGR) | |
Limited physical space | “We didn’t have enough negative air pressure rooms.” (P1, DIR) |
“You can’t socially distance in the break room, it’s not big enough.” (P6, DIR) | |
“There wasn’t enough space for everybody.” (P9, ADMIN) | |
Limited supplies | “At first we didn’t know how much stock we had—how much was already allocated.” (P1, DIR) |
“The demand and supply [for PPE] didn’t match out ever.” (P4, RN PACU) | |
“The only time I had a N95 was when I was first hired.” (P6, DIR) | |
“You’re dealing with a lack of supplies—and very little support.” (P17, RN PACU) | |
“We were still lacking…we were running out of PPE; we were running out of hospital beds.” (P18, RN COVID ICU) |