COVID-19 pandemic in long-term care: An international perspective for policy considerations.

This paper identifies key factors rooted in the systemic failings of the long-term care sector amongst four high income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to offer practice and policy solutions to prevent future tragedies. Based on data from Australia, Canada, Spain and the United States, the findings support evidence-based recommendations at macro, meso and micro levels of practice and policy intervention. Key macro recommendations include improving funding, transparency, accountability and health system integration; and promoting not-for-profit and government-run long-term care facilities. The meso recommendation involves moving from warehouses to "green houses." The micro recommendations emphasize mandating recommended staffing levels and skill mix; providing infection prevention and control training; establishing well-being and mental health supports for residents and staff; building evidence-based practice cultures; ensuring ongoing education for staff and nursing students; and fully integrating care partners, such as families or friends, into the healthcare team. Enacting these recommendations will improve residents' safety and quality of life, families' peace of mind, and staff retention and work satisfaction.

Role of professional organizations in advocating for the nursing profession.

Professional organizations and associations in nursing are critical for generating the energy, flow of ideas, and proactive work needed to maintain a healthy profession that advocates for the needs of its clients and nurses, and the trust of society. In this article the author discusses the characteristics of a profession, reviews the history of professional nursing organizations, and describes the advocacy activities of professional nursing organizations. Throughout, she explains how the three foundational documents of the nursing profession emphasize nursing advocacy by the professional organizations as outlined in the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements. The author concludes by encouraging all nurses to engage in their professional organizations and associations, noting how these organizations contribute to the accountability and voice of the profession to society.

The patient lock model©: a continuum of care.

Nursing as a profession has the responsibility to society to protect and promote the health of individuals and communities. The intent of this conceptual model is to center the patient in his or her environment while allowing qualified, expert health professionals to provide timely, effective, cost-efficient care within their levels of competence and expertise. Significant shortages of registered nurses and other health professionals delay timely provision of quality care and affect the effectiveness of care. Care management issues are due to the complexity of individual patient's health care needs, limited access to providers, inability to afford treatment, and delay in seeking care. These challenges to the system slow efficiency in the provision of care across all settings. In presenting this conceptual model, there will be a review of nursing and the internal and external forces that affect the profession. This is an initial development phase of the model: The Patient Lock Model.