This article was first published in the Spring 2021 issue of Critical Connections.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many intensive care units (ICUs) were overwhelmed with patients requiring a high level of care. Specialty nursing staff were recruited to care for COVID-19 patients, leading to staffing shortages in specialty ICUs that were supplemented by floating and traveling nurses. Significant demands were put on the nursing staff workforce, who had to quickly become familiar with new diseases, ICU protocols, and technology. In this article, we interview neuroscience ICU nurses from three different medical centers who provide insight into the challenges they faced.
 
Critical Connections, the critical care industry's only newsmagazine, provides information on cutting-edge topics in critical care useful to the entire multiprofessional team.Rajeev K. Garg, MD, MS
Bhuvanesh Govind, MD
Anna Karpenko, MD