1. Made nurses worth more money. Since the Covid pandemic, hospitals became much more saturated with patients, and the need for nurses increased two-folds. Hospitals were paying travelers crazy prices like 10k a week!! Or 20k sign on bonuses. While this was not offered to all nurses, critical care and emergency room nurses were on that list.
2. Made the burn out rate higher- the constant PPE changing, keeping families updated, worrying about one’s own family, higher patient acuity, more patients, and more stressed-out mangers-all contributed to burning nurses out.
3. Revealed different ways to take care of patients- a lot of nurses are high risk and since Covid hit, they decided to step away from the bedside. Jobs like telemedicine, medical writing etc. became popular.
4. Highlighted the importance of nursing- a lot of people changed their views of the nursing profession. While they may have thought of nursing as changing bedpans and giving medication, the pandemic changed that mindset. Instead, nurses were considered essential, hero’s- and definitely not insignificant.
5. More people are into public health now that Covid hit- we used to preach about preventative care and many people did not listen. Now more than ever, people are washing their hands and engaging in preventive care measures.
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