Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on different areas of people’s lives on personal, national, and even global levels. The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the world has caused significant changes in policies. As a result, it is important to examine the specific effects of COVID-19 on the political climate, legal issues, policies, interprofessional healthcare, and nursing. The spread of the pandemic has led to critical adjustments in all spheres of people’s lives, and the most significant negative effects are observed in international relations, the local and global economy, and healthcare.
Political Climate
The political climate in the world has changed since December of 2019 when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported. Critical political decisions regarding the limitation of trade relations with different countries, contacts with China, and border closures were discussed at national levels but implemented globally. The quality of political interactions between different states has decreased, as it is reported by Pinotti et al. (2020). During many months, the countries with the highest rates of COVID-19, such as China, Italy, Spain, and Iran, for example, were almost isolated in a political arena. Thus, it is possible to note that the political climate was shaped by such external forces as COVID-19 at the beginning of 2020, but then, this climate shaped further relations between states.
Legal Implications
In the United States, one of the largest groups of legal cases associated with the COVID-19 pandemic includes cases regarding insurance. The problem is that the pandemic caused unemployment for many US citizens who also lost their employer-sponsored insurance. As a result, being diagnosed with COVID-19 or other severe conditions, they cannot receive required medical care. The legislation on providing any compensation for individuals who lose insurance should be revised, and the new legislation regarding specific actions associated with critical health situations should be developed and implemented (Blumenthal et al., 2020). Thus, legal cases associated with insurance issues during the COVID-19 pandemic represent a large proportion today.
Policy
One of the recently changed national policies in the sphere of healthcare is associated with staffing. Thus, in many states, it is allowed now to hire previously retired professionals or medical workers who did not practice for a certain time, depending on changes in policies regarding licensing. Previously, decisions regarding hiring medical staff depended on the quality of their professional license. Understaffing has led to altering some aspects of the policy to provide more individuals with skills in the medical field to join the staff of healthcare facilities (Chen et al., 2020). Currently, the change is discussed as reasonable because many healthcare facilities in the United States still cannot address the understaffing issue, and the attraction of more qualified personnel will contribute to the quality of care.
Interprofessional Healthcare
The COVID-19 pandemic made interprofessional healthcare teams involving nurses work effectively according to tight schedules. The lack of staff caused the situation of performing different roles by nurses, who are expected to provide initial diagnoses and care for patients, as well as contact with family members when it is possible. The status hierarchy seems to be changed in healthcare facilities as nurses are provided with more roles interchangeable with other members of their interprofessional teams (Michalec & Lamb, 2020). In the context of these teams, the roles of therapists and physician assistants have also been changed as all these specialists, including nurses, are expected to provide a full range of services to patients when it is possible.
Nursing Implications
The practice of nurses has changed after the outbreak of the pandemic in terms of widening their responsibilities and roles. The first important duty is participation in diagnosing patients and making tests to determine the cases with COVID-19. The second role is to provide the full scope of care for critically ill patients, including the realization of treatment plans. At this stage, nurses are expected to make critical decisions regarding the distribution of equipment among patients and address their needs in the context of the lack of necessary devices. Finally, the third role is to provide required psychological assistance to other nurses and patients (Huston, 2019). Along with increased fatigue of nurses because of overtime work, the discussed implications include the increased responsibility, but patients can receive all the required care.
Reflection
The political climate has changed the areas related to my personal life, but no effects on my profession were observed. I have noticed that the discussed legal issue is typical for today, and I became the witness of several situations when individuals were at risk of non-receiving services because of the lack of insurance due to unemployment. The policy under analysis was discussed as it is actively adopted in my workplace, and I can see only positive outcomes because it is possible to address the understaffing issue. As a member of an interprofessional healthcare team and as a nurse, I have acquired more responsibilities and roles, and in most cases, I am responsible for a full cycle of care of a patient if this situation is not critical. I feel some fatigue and distress, but I understand my professional contribution to resolving the situation.
Conclusion
It is impossible to ignore the fact that COVID-19 has changed the practice and policies not only in healthcare but also in other spheres. Politics, economy, and legislation are also considerably affected today. Much pressure is observed for medical workers who demonstrate highly developed skills and commitment while caring for critically ill patients. This situation allows for developing the work of interprofessional teams in hospitals.
References
Blumenthal, D., Fowler, E. J., Abrams, M., & Collins, S. R. (2020). Covid-19 – Implications for the health care system. The New England Journal of Medicine, 383(15), 1483-1488. Web.
Chen, S. C., Lai, Y. H., & Tsay, S. L. (2020). Nursing perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19. The Journal of Nursing Research, 28(3), 85-90. Web.
Huston, C. J. (2019). Professional issues in nursing: Challenges and opportunities (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Michalec, B., & Lamb, G. (2020). COVID-19 and team-based healthcare: The essentiality of theory-driven research. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 34(5), 593-599. Web.
Pinotti, F., Di Domenico, L., Ortega, E., Mancastroppa, M., Pullano, G., Valdano, E., Boëlle, P.Y., Poletto, C., & Colizza, V. (2020). Tracing and analysis of 288 early SARS-CoV-2 infections outside China: A modeling study. PLoS Medicine, 17(7), e1003193. Web.