Front-line nurses propose solutions for future crisis response

Adequate staffing, sufficient protective equipment, more emotional support and a request administrators spend time shadowing nurses are among the local solutions proposed by nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. A report from the Frontline Nurses WikiWisdom Forum—an initiative of New Voice Strategies, the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the American Journal of Nursing—recommends 14 strategies for better managing future health care crises. At the national level, the report recommends expanding the use of telehealth, a coordinated public health infrastructure and making access to affordable health care available to all Americans. Above all, the report calls on employers and policymakers to listen to nurses who have first-hand experience caring for patients during this public health emergency and invite them to the tables where decisions are made.