At the start of the outbreak, units in Saint Vincent Hospital shifted to become dedicated COVID-19 units, and medical and surgical nurses had to become critical care nurses for COVID-19 patients. Molly Petroff: “Elective surgeries and procedures in our hospital were canceled, and surgical and procedural nurses became inpatient medical and surgical nurses. In fact, many roles were changing, and everyone also had to scramble to learn about new personal protective equipment (PPE) and when it was appropriate to use it. Upskilling everywhere was fast and furious.”
A new COVID-19 EPSS to assist nurses
In the meantime, Xprtise, together with Erasmus Medical Center, had launched a workplace learning solution to deal with the coronavirus outbreak in the Netherlands. A workflow learning solution designed for all healthcare professionals who need to jump to cope with the sudden increased demand for care. Molly: “When Xprtise contacted us to ask if we were interested in seeing what they had developed for healthcare organizations in the Netherlands to deal with COVID-19, we immediately said, “YES!!”. Before this, we were adding information to our existing EPSS platforms, but inspired by their example, we created a new COVID EPSS to assist staff in dealing with our rapidly changing world and all its complexities.”
Staff were reassigned from all hospital units and wards. Molly: “We even had intensive care nurses willing to come out of retirement. So, our focus on developing this resource was to help staff understand the new role they were filling. Under Caring for a COVID-19 patient, the nurse could choose performance support based on the type of COVID patient for whom they were providing care. And based on the Performance Support Pyramid, they had instant access to different resources.” After choosing a patient, e.g., COVID Patient ON VENTILATOR, the nurse could see step-by-step instructions on what needed to be completed on the shift, as well as detailed information on steps if needed.
Equipment resources
Other staff at Saint Vincent Hospital received similar support. Molly: “Probably the most frequently changing items of this EPSS were those about personal protective equipment (PPE). As soon as new masks and protective equipment came into the hospital, we provided information on what was available and how to use it. Equipment resources was not a new subject for the hospital but included as a single point of access for those who would not normally work with such equipment prior to COVID.”
At this time, Molly and her colleagues are continuing to see the solution used. “We are seeing case numbers higher than ever they were during spring and increasing. The numbers in our area are nowhere near maxing out. Staff who had returned to their earlier nursing roles, and now being called on to step up again. Our COVID-19 steps are still there to assist them.”
Try out a COVID-19 workflow learning solution
Are you curious about this workflow learning solution for healthcare organizations? Then create a free account on https://registreren-covid19.askdelphi.com. You can log in to the AskErasmus MC workflow learning solution and take a look around. Please note this workflow learning solution is in Dutch. For information in English, please contact us at info@xprtise.com.
