Encounters with uncertainty and complexity: Reflecting on infection prevention and control nursing in Aotearoa during the COVID-19 pandemic
Sarah Berger, PhD, MBA, RN, Nursing Director
Reference: Berger, S. (2021). Encounters with uncertainty and complexity: Reflecting on infection prevention and control nursing in Aotearoa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand, 37(3), 15-19. https://doi.org/10.36951/27034542.2021.027
Encounters with uncertainty and complexity -... (0.22MB)
Abstract:
Abstract
The disruptiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic created the need for rapid responses in health systems already under pressure and challenged nursing in Aotearoa New Zealand with levels of uncertainty and complexity not previously encountered. For the small number of specialists in the field of infection prevention and control (IPC) nursing nationally, this meant having to adapt to new ways of working and collaborating in situations where the pace of change was extraordinary. This short commentary describes the author’s experiences working as an infection prevention and control nurse leader and is underpinned by complex adaptive systems thinking and the concept of collective competence as theoretical frameworks through which to conceptualise and account for the COVID-19 response in the Canterbury region.
Keywords
COVID-19; infection prevention and control; nursing