Enhancing Nursing Capacity to Provide Patient Care in a Pandemic

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an immediate priority for nurse leaders was to develop a care delivery plan to address anticipated surges in patient volumes and potential staff shortages. This article describes actions taken to enhance patient care capacity. Strategies included reviewing the competencies of nurses and other health professionals, mapping out redeployment pathways, preparing nurses and other health professionals for redeployment as needed and creating a collaborative care team model. This article includes an in-depth focus on the design, implementation and outcomes of an innovative role for fourth-year nursing students in the collaborative care team model.