Surge Training Prepares Nurses Across Departments for Pandemic Response By Brittany Hughes, BSN, RN This past spring, the COVID-19 pandemic hit our hospital like a hurricane. In anticipation of any possible surges related to COVID-19, leadership directed me to prepare a training course for nurses from other departments conducted on the Med-Surg and ICU units. Providing the surge education and training was a blessing in that it gave me a purpose when everything was in question, including our work, our lives and our place during such uncertainty. I’m grateful I was able to connect personally with the nurses in training and be a voice and advocate for them. Between April 4 and April 30, 39 nurses attended classes and sessions as part of surge training. The course included a scavenger hunt on both Med-Surg and ICU to familiarize nurses with the layout of the units; Cerner Powerchart training in collaboration with Clinical Informatics; and education on how to create a custom patient list. Using various tools provided by the education department, I was also able to offer hands-on experience with IV pumps, IV tubing and IV starts. Participating nurses also learned about Sound-Alike-Look-Alike Drugs (SALAD) likely to be pulled and administered on the units. Furthermore, the training included education on admissions and transitions on Med-Surg and ICU; medication administration and scanning; blood products transfusion; and specimen scanning. It was also important to familiarize the participating nurses with a team nursing process. In the event of a surge,
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these nurses would be assigned a group of patients along with an ICU or Med-Surg nurse who would direct the patients’ care. Participating nurses would be instrumental in helping the assigned nurse administer medications, educate patients, admit and transition patients, and complete any other patient care tasks. Additionally, as part of surge training, many nurses shadowed Med-Surg and ICU nurses in order to better understand the workflow throughout a shift.
