In-situ simulation to increase intensive care nursing staff during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: advantages and limitations

Italy was one of the most affected Western European countries during the first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The great number of critically ill patients required a nationwide increase in intensive care beds (Grasselli, Pesenti,& Cecconi, 2020). Consequently, a massive nursing workforce without any precedent critical care training or experience was deployed to the intensive care units (ICU), trying to guarantee a nurse-to-patient ratio of 1:2, as a defined standard for Italian ICUs. Despite those recruitments, the number of experienced critical care nurses (CCN) remains too often disproportionate in relation to the patients' clinical complexity.
Source: Clinical Simulation in Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Short communication Source Type: research