The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Intensive Care Nurses' Experience in Providing Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Care

Abstract

To explore the challenges and describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care nurses' experience in providing ECMO care in a high-volume Australian ICU ECMO centre that provides Veno-Venous (V-V), Veno-Arterial (V-A), and Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (E-CPR) ECMO support. A qualitative descriptive methodology was employed, involving semi-structured individual interviews with 30 specialist ECMO-trained intensive care nurses. An open inductive thematic analysis was conducted, with four main themes identified; (1) demand on ECMO trained critical care nurses (2) nurses' professional commitment, (3) physical and mental impact of isolation, and (4) adaptive training and education. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the ICU nursing workforce preparedness, particularly education and training for sustained ECMO care during heightened demand. Nurses played a pivotal role in providing ongoing care due to the increased demand for ECMO support in the ICU. Nursing workforce planning is crucial to meet the demand for ECMO-trained and experienced critical care nurses.

Keywords: COVID‐19; critical care; extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; intensive care; nursing; qualitative research.