California Governor Gavin Newsom proposes that nurses be trained in ICU care in just 48 hours. Maybe they can be trained in 2 days but certainly not sufficiently enough to do things safely or within the standard of care.
A nurse with only 48 hours of ICU training may end up being more of a danger to a COVID 19 patient than the virus itself.
But what difference does that make when hospitals cannot be sued for malpractice involving COVID related cases?
I would like to be standing alongside Governor Newsom while he learns to become proficient as an ICU nurse in a mere 2 days. Of course, it will not happen and, in fact, can NOT happen! Even if he had a medical background to start with, it just is not feasible for such a Herculean feat, even by a Governor.
To become an effective and safe nurse requires years of practice and continued education for one “to get their nursing legs.”
More precisely, the assumption that one can go from a different type of nursing care to learn ICU practices in 48 hours is also ridiculous!
Many nurses have spoken up saying Newsom’s whimsical idea will not work. They have talked about how they themselves had 6 months of training before they were allowed to take patients on their own without the support of other already professionally trained medical personnel.
I caution any California nurse to think again if they believe they can become a proficient ICU nurse in less time than it takes to drive from Los Angeles to New York City.
You may not be sued for malpractice because of the laws protecting COVID 19 healthcare providers from legal action but, nevertheless, your LICENSE IS STILL ON THE LINE.
Do not make the mistake of trusting a politician’s statement over the most basic reality of what is known by essentially every person in the healthcare profession. Which do you believe provides a more trustworthy educated and work-experienced opinion?
2 days? The idea would be laughable if it did not involve the life-and-death issues accompanying the COVID pandemic.
I strongly encourage you to invite your legislators to shadow you in the ICU so they can see what you are dealing with and decide for themselves if someone can be trained in 2 days.
Let me know below your thoughts on Governor Newsom’s statement.
Patricia says
Here is my thought….HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Linda says
I would like to ask the dear Governor if he would accept any of these 2-day ICU nurses to care for his family members.
JoAnne Fox says
Gov. Newsome has got this one totally wrong. I was certified in critical care for over 25 years and also taught nursing during that time. I am recently retired. It would take more than 48 hours of supervised instruction/care to even learn to operate the most basic of today’s equipment – each brand and model is unique.
Jessica Nunez says
I’m not sure if this is still happening in California. But, most definitely Governor Newsome surely had healthcare consultants encouraging him that this was ok. Nevertheless,
it is deplorable to even fathom a non medical person who is weilding his power and authority over our healthcare system and affecting our most vulnerable critical patient population. As healthcare professionals we are mandated reporters and our oath is protect our patients. How does one report Newsome and his unsafe mandates to a system which has no power to overturn his decision?
What will become of our nation’s healthcare system if this is what we see now?
I cannot imagine.
Stay healthy, be safe everyone.