Aims To understand how nurses experience providing care for patients hospitalized with COVID‐19 in intensive care units. Background As hospitals adjust staffing patterns to meet the demands of the pandemic, nurses have direct physical contact with ill patients, placing themselves and their families at physical and emotional risk. Methods From June to August 2020, semi‐structured interviews were conducted. Sixteen nurses caring for COVID‐19 patients during the first surge of the pandemic were selected via purposive sampling. Participants worked in ICUs of a quaternary 1,000‐bed hospital in the Northeast United States. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, identifiers were removed, and data were coded thematically. Results Our exploratory study identified four themes that describe the experiences of nurses providing care to patients in COVID‐19 ICUs during the first surge: (a) challenges of working with new co‐workers and teams, (b) challenges of maintaining existing working relationships, (c) role of nursing leadership in providing information and maintaining morale and (d) the importance of institutional‐level acknowledgement of their work. Conclusions As the pandemic continues, hospitals should implement nursing staffing models that maintain and strengthen existing relationships to minimize exhaustion and burnout. Implications for Nursing Management To better support nurses, hospital leaders need to account for their experiences caring for COVID‐19 patients when making staffing decisions.

OBJECTIVE:To describe trends and risk factors for pressure injuries (PIs) in adult critical care patients proned to alleviate acute respiratory distress syndrome secondary to COVID-19 and examine the effectiveness of products and strategies used to mitigate PIs. METHODS:The authors conducted a retrospective chart review between April 9 and June 8, 2020. Demographic data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Differences between groups with and without PIs were analyzed.RESULTS: Among 147 patients, significant PI risk factors included male sex ( P = .019), high body mass index (>40 kg/m 2 ; P = .020), low Braden Scale score (<12; P = .018), and low-dose vasopressor therapy ( P = .020). Taping endotracheal tubes (ETTs) caused significantly fewer facial PIs than commercial ETT holders ( P < .0001). Maximum prone duration/session was a significant risk factor for anterior PIs ( P = . 016), which dropped 71% with newer pressure redistribution products. D-Dimer greater than 3,200 μg/mL ( P = .042) was a significant risk factor for sacrococcygeal PIs while supine. Mortality was 30%; significant risk factors included age older than 60 years (P = .005), Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score greater than 11 ( P = .003), and comorbid congestive heart failure ( P = .016). CONCLUSIONS:Taping the ETT, limiting the maximum duration of prone positioning to less than 32 hours, and frequent repositioning while supine may reduce the number of modifiable risk factors for PIs. Standardized methods for testing products for PI prevention will inform individualized patient care.