The impact of Covid-19 on Post-Operative Intensive Care Unit and Recovery Room: Experimental Survey on the Feasibility and Behavioural Metamorphosis of Nursing Staff.

Abstract The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has disrupted the National Health System. The aim of the study is to analyse what the effects of the pandemic have been on Post-Operative Intensive Care Unit and Post Anaesthesia Care Unit and to describe how nursing staff responded to the health care emergency. The thesis is based on a prospective cross-sectional study. The survey was administered to 24 nurses in Cattinara Hospital in Trieste (Italy) in the period between June and September 2020. The inclusion criterion is “having worked for more than 3 continuous months in the ward during the pandemic”. The 91,7% of the nurses stated that the team’s spirit of cohesion is highly decisive in dealing with the health emergency. Data show that 53,8% of the team is highly specialized and has more than 15 years of experience in critical nursing area. Clinical experience and teamwork are strictly crucial to obtaining a posi-tive outcome. Despite the ever-increasing psychophysical load, the increase in the workload in qualitative and quantitative terms, all combined with the unpredictability of the situation, the nurses provided high-level nursing care. This behavioural metamorphosis was made possible both thanks to the masterful experience in the clinical field and teamwork