According to recent statistics, 1 in 5 nurses have retired from active duty since the pandemic began. Far from feeling like heroes, nurses now feel exhausted, demoralized, underappreciated, and severely overworked. They are broken in ways that cannot be repaired.
Recently, an intensive care unit nurse abandoned his shift in the middle of the night and walked off into the unknown only to be found deceased 2 days later. What happened to this caregiver? Was his distress so severe he could not communicate pain? One can only wonder.
Nurses across the country are suffering from moral injury.
What is moral injury? According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, moral injury can occur when someone engages in acts that "conflict with their values or beliefs." Although healthcare workers are trained to frequently witness patients in distress — even dying — the types of situations they have observed during the pandemic have driven them to much higher levels of stress. Nurses are finding it increasingly difficult to cope.
Imagine a nursing supervisor who has onebed available for intubated/ventilated patients when five more potentials are waiting in the emergency department — or worse, they are sitting in a waiting room but are critically ill and urgently require an assessment that will be delayed.
