COVID-19 Response and Nurses Week 2020

As COVID-19 reaches all corners of America, the nation is recognizing a different kind of hero in a different kind of war: America’s healthcare workers. 

On the frontlines every day, they care for the hundreds of thousands of patients affected by COVID-19, including those in the care of Veteran Affairs (VA).

In addition to our patients, more than 1,500 VA health care workers have been affected by the disease, with nine losing their lives against a virus we are all working against. NOVA nurses are fighting to protect their patients and communities with a dedicated response plan. This Nurses Week we are celebrating our NOVA and VA health care heroes.

VA Initiative for COVID-19

On March 27, the VA released its COVID-19 response plan that will “…protect and care for Veterans, their families, health care providers, and staff…” Described as “an aggressive public health response,” the plan shifts some outpatient care to telehealth and postpones some procedures that have been deemed elective and non-emergent. These measures enable Veterans to receive care through minimal contact health care workers and helps preserve dwindling personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies for more critical uses.

The plan also calls for the creation of two zones in all inpatient units: one dedicated to COVID-19 patient care, and a second for “all other care.” The two-zone approach is designed to help minimize the risk of infection—for both patients and workers—while patients are triaged.

All 135 VA nursing homes, which house more than 42,00 Veterans who are mostly older and have multiple complex health conditions, will now adopt a “No Visitor” stance. This also includes the 24 major spinal cord injury and disorder centers run by the VA. All nursing homes will suspend new admissions and staff will be screened daily and be dedicated to working at Community Living Centers.

Recognizing VA Nurses

These efforts come at a time when health care workers are more vital than ever before, and their safety, in addition to that of patients, is a paramount concern. VA nurses are on the frontlines battling the virus with dwindling resources and working around the clock to keep their VA patients healthy. These heroic efforts make this year’s National Nurses Week (May 6-May 12, ending on Florence Nightingale’s birthday) particularly meaningful.

NOVA is providing the following ideas and resources to help ensure your National Nurses Week celebration is the best it can be.

A NOVA Welcome

What better way to celebrate the work of a VA nurse than by welcoming them to the NOVA community? If your facility allows, set up a table and distribute NOVA membership applications and materials. 

Make it informative by hosting an educational webinar on topics affecting VA Nurses and the Veterans they care for. Encourage potential members to explore NOVA’s website to learn more about NOVA’s online resources, how to join, view other chapters, and more.

Show off your NOVA pride by wearing a NOVA Nurses Week t-shirt and other apparel. Consider raffling off or distributing NOVA swag including pins, tumblers, pens, and bumper stickers.

Acknowledge and recognize VA nurses at your facility who have obtained a VA-approved national certification.

Finally, promote your Nurses Day activities on social media. If you do not already have one,
consider creating a Facebook page or event for your chapter. 

Show Your VA Nurse Pride

Log into your favorite social media platform and follow the instructions below:

Facebook

· Share posts from the NOVA Facebook page directly with your friends and family
  or make posts of your own. “Like” the NOVA page to talk and interact with other
  VA nurses by sharing, liking, and commenting on posts related to National
  Nurses Week.
· Share the page with other colleagues or industry professionals who currently do
  not “like” the NOVA page. You can share the page by clicking the “Invite Friends”
  link in the community column to the right. 

Twitter

· Share and/or create tweets that direct others to the NOVA Twitter page and
  NOVA’s official website. A tweet is limited to 280 characters (including links), so
  omit punctuation and abbreviate words when needed. Use Bitly.com to shorten
  links to save space.

· Include the NOVA handle (@NOVANurses) in your posts; doing so will help drive
  other Twitter users to visit and follow the page.

· Don’t forget to hashtag! Use #NursesWeek and/or #NOVANurse in your posts.
  Hashtags are words or phrases that can be tracked by clicking on them. You can
  also use these hashtags on other social media platforms as well.

Instagram

On Instagram share high quality digital photos related to NOVA and Nurses Week with your professional network.

· Take pictures within the app or use photos that already exist in your camera
   roll showing off your NOVA swag.

· Save photos posted by @NOVANurses to your smartphone, then share with
  our Instagram followers

· Connect your Instagram account to your personal Facebook account for
  increased exposure and engagement.

· Instagram prevents links in captions or comments from being clickable, so
  avoid using them.

· Use handles (@NOVANurses) in your posts to help drive other Instagram users to visit
  and follow the page.

· A don’t forget to use relevant hashtags!

LinkedIn

· Share posts from NOVA’s LinkedIn page directly with your connections on
  LinkedIn or create posts of your own.

· “Follow” NOVA’s page on LinkedIn and interact with others by sharing, liking, and
   commenting on posts related to National Nurses Week 2020.

Sample Social Media Posts

If you’re not a social media maverick, use the following sample social media posts to get your National Nurses Week celebration going. And, since people are more likely to look at and engage with a post with a photo, snap a photo and share it with your post! 

·         I'm proud to be a VA Nurse! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

·         VA Nurses care for America's Heroes! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

·         NOVA is proud to be the Voice of the VA Nurse! #NursesWeek #NOVANurse

Celebrate with NOVA

Share any articles, updates and pictures with captions that highlight the great work you do on behalf of Veterans every day. These can include local community activities with Veterans, health care initiatives at your facility, awards, chapter events, or anything else that would be appropriate for social media. Your story may be shared on social media and in the NOVA News e-newsletter. 

Click here to share your story! 

Yvette Twum-Danso, MSN, RN, CCRN, PhDc
NOVA Chapter 362: Columbia, SC VA Health Care System

NOVA Chapter 362 participated in the COVID-19 preparedness at the facility level. Many NOVA nurses helped with screening employees and Veterans. The nurses went the extra mile to ensure they were prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic for both the outpatient and inpatient settings. We were optimistic and thankful for our facility’s leadership and each other! 

The following photos captured the essence of NOVA nurses’ magnitude and strength:

                                                               Yvette Twum-Danso, RN FIT TEST

                                                         Kimberly Bond, RN & Wanda Cooper, RN

                                                                     Clinical Skills Engagement

                                                 Teresa Flemming, RN & Jennifer Walker, RN

                                                   Primary Care: Clinical Skills Engagement

                                           Samaria Beaufort-Baylock, RN & Russell Watkins, RN

                                    Nurse Case Managers: VVC and Telephone Clinic Engagement

                                                      Columbia SC VA (NOVA & Non-NOVA) 

                                                                 Emotional Support for Nurses

                                          Emergency Blood Drive: COVID-19 Mission Ready

                                     Yvette Twum-Danso, RN and American Red Cross Nurse

         Kimberley Bond, RN: Blood Donor & Kimberly Gray, RN: Blood Donor

 Marriott International Offers Community Caregivers Special Rate! 

Marriott International invites first responders and support staff providing medical, relief, and support services to book designated hotels nationwide as a part of a community caregivers program. This will provide health care and relief professionals, and those supporting them, a place to stay in close proximity to hospitals and government buildings as they aid in COVID-19 response efforts.

A “Community Caregivers Rate” has been established to expedite the booking process for healthcare and relief professionals and support staff. This rate will be available from March 26, 2020 through June 30, 2020 at participating hotels.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking retired VA clinicians and Federal health care providers. WE NEED YOU!  Please consider re-employment with VA to help in the battle against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. VA Medical Centers are especially looking for healthcare professionals with interest and expertise in Tele/Virtual Care, National Call Center, Travel Nurse Corps and Direct Patient Care/Support. 

Be on the front line of defense against the spread of the COVID-19 at the VA’s medical centers, outpatient clinics, community living centers and call centers.

To learn more, please email vacareers@va.gov or apply at www.vacareers.va.gov

Nancy Claflin, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CCRN-K, CPHQ, FNAHQ

The practice of mentoring in nursing began with the development of the nursing profession.  Florence Nightingale was often referred to as the mentor of matrons, which is what nurses were called. Since that time, mentoring has been a key element in the development of nurses and the nursing profession. Nursing mentors assist less experienced nurses to understand their profession and advance their careers. Mentors provide a supportive relationship to encourage mentees’ growth and development. Mentoring programs have demonstrated significant benefits for both mentors and mentees. Specific benefits of mentoring that have been identified include the development of interactive listening skills by mentors, and the development of analytic problem-solving skills by mentees after participating in a mentoring relationship. 

NOVA has developed the Empower Mentoring Program to help you meet your professional goals. NOVA members can take advantage of this program to pursue their dreams related to professional advancement within the Department of Veterans Affairs. NOVA’s Empower Mentoring Program was launched in 2016 by the NOVA Education Committee working with two Jonas Scholars, and has been revised every year since that time. The NOVA Empower Mentoring Program is designed to guide a mutual relationship between an experienced VA nurse who is the mentor and the mentee.  The objectives of NOVA’s Mentoring Program are to:

· Develop supportive and encouraging relationships in the Department of Veterans
  Affairs

· Guide NOVA nurses in their professional, personal, and interpersonal growth within
  the Department of Veterans Affairs

· Provide and promote mutual support, collaboration, and sharing based on needs of
  NOVA nurses

· Communicate information concerning expectations, learning opportunities, and
  stressors in VA nursing 

A mentoring program can help VA nurses to develop supportive and encouraging relationships; guide VA nurses in their professional, personal, and interpersonal growth; promote mutuality and sharing based on the needs of the mentor and mentee; and communicate information concerning expectations, learning opportunities, and stressors. The NOVA Mentoring Program helps new NOVA members connect with seasoned NOVA members to benefit from their expertise and experience.  It provides mentees with specific assistance related to current needs, and helps seasoned NOVA members not only serve as mentors, but also as resources who can help mentees to meet requirements for advancement related to proficiency, education, evidence based practice, and research, as well as professional development. NOVA Chapters can also benefit from mentoring to enhance chapter development.

A good fit between a mentor and a mentee occurs when mentors are caring, compassionate, genuine, and willing to disclose information about themselves and about what they know.  Mentees need to be open to accept feedback and be willing to learn more about themselves and their expected role. A successful mentoring relationship requires willingness and skill in giving and receiving feedback. This is important for both the mentor and the mentee since one of the greatest learning opportunities occurs through the feedback that is given to and received from others. Both individuals must offer constructive feedback, positive and negative, to ensure that common needs and goals are being met. They need to know how the other is doing in the relationship to determine their future direction. It’s most helpful if the mentor and mentee agree early in the relationship on how to give each other feedback.

To access NOVA’s Empower Mentoring Program, go to NOVA website, www.vanurse.org and sign in. If you don’t have an account, as a member of NOVA, you may register for one. Once you access the Members Only section of the website, click on Education, then on Mentorship Program.

The mentoring process begins as the mentee is assigned to an expert nurse mentor. The NOVA Education Committee Chair is responsible for assigning mentor/mentee pairs and notifying the mentor and mentee. The following are the steps for initiating the mentoring relationship:

Step 1. Mentee receives name and email address of Mentor.
Step 2. Mentee contacts Mentor by email within 30 days of receiving
             Mentor’s email address to set up initial communication.
Step 3. Mentee and Mentor exchange contact information.
Step 4. Mentee and Mentor agree on method of communication (email, phone,
             meeting) and agree to communicate (by email, phone, or meeting)
             every month.
Step 5. Mentee identifies at least one goal and action item for the Mentoring
             experience.

What do you want to do or achieve?  If you have multiple goals, which one do you want to start working on first? How much time do you think it will take to achieve this goal? How will you know when you achieve the goal? How will you measure achievement of the goal? Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound. Mentee should evaluate the goal with the Mentor’s help. Is it specific? Is it measurable? Is it achievable? Is it realistic?  Is the time frame to achieve the goal realistic? Mentee and Mentor together should review the following questions related to the goal. What information do you need to achieve your goal?  What individual strengths and weaknesses can you identify related to this goal? Do you need to develop any skills to achieve this goal? What resources do you need to achieve your goal? Mentee should develop an Action Plan including action items to meet the goal with assistance from the Mentor. What will you do first? What additional steps need to be taken?

Step 6. Mentee and Mentor review progress, future direction, and establish date
             and time for next contact in the next 30 days.
Step 7. Mentee completes quarterly update and sends to the Chair, Education
             Committee quarterly (January, April, July, October). 

                                                Mentee Quarterly Update (Sample)

Name of Mentee: _________________   Name of Mentor: _____________________________

Date Mentee and Mentor Began Mentoring Program: _______________________________

At least one goal and action item have been established                    ____Yes     ____No

Mentee and Mentor have communicated every month                       ____Yes     ____No

Mentee and Mentor are going to continue Mentoring Program          ____Yes     ____No

Comments:
           
Should you ask for a mentor to begin NOVA’s formal Mentoring Program? Would you like help navigating the VA system, developing supportive and encouraging relationships, guidance in professional, personal, and interpersonal growth? Would you like to connect with seasoned NOVA members to benefit from their expertise and experience? Would you like specific assistance related to current needs? Are you willing to complete the program requirements and work with a mentor to achieve your goals?  Please consider requesting a mentor.

Would you like help in preparing your input for your proficiency?  Please request proficiency help.

Would you like to have someone you can contact with questions?  If you don’t want to begin NOVA’s formal mentoring program but just want a resource you can contact with questions, please request a resource.

Should you become a mentor?  Have you worked in the VA for a year or more? Do you know things now that you wished somebody had told you when you first started working in VA? Do you like helping people? Do you want to enrich your time in VA? Do you want to help people navigate the sometimes confusing routes to promotion and career development in the VA? Do you want to answer questions from VA nurses who would like help with a situation they’re encountering at work? Do you want to help VA nurses start a NOVA chapter or help make a NOVA chapter better? Do you want to make a difference? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please consider signing up to be a mentor.