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To the editor:
The U.S. health care system is largely dependent on the support of travel nurses to survive. Whether it comes to hospitals, clinics, or other care facilities, travel nurses help maintain the health and safety of patients and facilities by adding a much-needed layer of support.
For decades, nurses have struggled with long hours, high stress, and minimal pay and overtime. Our hospitals, patients, and the profession as a whole have suffered because of it. The physical and emotional exhaustion of nurses' jobs have left the industry short staffed.
Even before the pandemic, the hospital I worked at as a nurse had chronic short staffing. It resulted in a difficult work environment that limited nurses' abilities to adequately care for patients.
While medical facilities were navigating this nursing shortage, 2020 hit and further exacerbated this situation.
This was certainly my experience as director of nursing at an Ohio nursing home. The pandemic quickly overwhelmed our facility. We were understaffed, and some of us had to put in 16-hour work days to treat our patients with the sufficient care they deserve. We were in desperate need of additional support.
This experience, and that of so many other facilities, have spurred nursing providers to recognize that improvements to our nation's healthcare system were necessary. This has led to expanded efforts, particularly through travel and foreign-educated nurses, to combat these difficulties. Health care professional staffing companies have helped alleviate hospital strain by recruiting both domestic and foreign-educated nurses and deploying these professionals to the facilities most in need.
The flexibility of travel nursing ultimately led me to become one myself after a challenging pandemic experience. I've seen the impact my colleagues and I have on the influx of patients who have come through our doors. The support that travel nurses provide, both for patients and staff nurses, is invaluable and would have reduced many of the excessively long work days my colleagues and I experienced both before and during COVID-19.
To meet the labor demand that exists in our system, health care facilities and staffing firms have been delivering incentive packages that include compensation for relocation, as travel nurses are willing to move themselves across the country to serve patients. Nurses have also seen their pay increase, due in part to increased need from the pandemic.
Given the stresses of the job, people sometimes ask what travel nurses gain from this profession. Every day, I have the privilege of working alongside nurses from across the U.S. and even the world. Witnessing nurses from all backgrounds work together to treat patients is a special thing and a major reason why I love my job.
COVID-19 has shown the world just how crucial staff, travel, and foreign-educated nurses all are to the functionality of our health care facilities. Public recognition of nurses' tireless work has increased, as has the compensation nurses earn to support our families. We must not lose sight of this appreciation as we continue to support our country's nurses and patients.
Crystal Pogact
Boardman