April 2, 2020

Organizing, Upskilling, and Staying Healthy During the Pandemic: How One Leader Is Supporting and Equipping Fellow APs

Interview with Gabrielle A. Zecha, PA-C, MHA, Director of Advanced Practice Providers, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

By A. Kate MacDougall

Behind all of the preparation at hospitals and clinics across the country to care for the influx of COVID-19 patients, there are fearless leaders, rallying their teams of clinicians and equipping them for what lies ahead. Gabrielle Zecha, PA-C, MHA, is one of those organizers, working closely with advanced practitioners (APs) at UW Medicine and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance to position them where they can help, hone their skills, and make sure they stay healthy and safe.

Organizing the Troops
At her institution, Zecha said that an overwhelming number of APs have contacted her, eager to provide their skills and abilities for the pandemic response in any way they can. Something important to keep in mind when assigning COVID-19 pandemic response roles to staff, Zecha said, is making sure that staff who are more vulnerable to the virus—those over age 60, those who are immunocompromised or pregnant, or those who are living with an at-risk person—are minimizing their contact with patients with COVID-19.

“Be creative in the way you deploy your team so that it honors their skillset and what they want to do and also honors those people who can’t be on the frontlines but still want to contribute,” she said.

Upskilling and Cross-Training for Success
One of Zecha’s biggest tasks at the moment is ensuring all of the APs who can help with patient care are cross-trained on acute care services. Because not all oncology/hematology disciplines routinely work with acute care patients, it’s vital to upskill everyone in this area so they can meet the acute care needs that come with treating COVID-19 patients.

“We’re taking [providers] in our survivorship and surgical services where they’re not being utilized right now because surgeries are being delayed or they’re [seeing fewer] visits in the clinic right now, and we’re getting those people up to speed, having them working in our acute care evaluation center and shadowing on our in-patient unit,” Zecha explained.

Keeping Staff Healthy and Safe
Another important preparation measure is making sure all staff stay healthy and well rested. Zecha said that she sends staff home when they aren’t seeing patients or in lieu of spending admin time at the ambulatory clinic. This way, they can make time to exercise, eat well, and get plenty of sleep.

“We’re trying to get [staff] mindful of those things and take good care of themselves so that when we need them, they’re here and they’re healthy and in a mindset that they’re ready to go,” she said.

Lending an Ear
Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, staff need to feel supported and cared for. Zecha makes a point every day to check in with her fellow APs, ensure they have the resources they need, and answer any questions. And sometimes, she says, she just lets them vent to her.

“This is going to be a marathon; it’s not a sprint,” Zecha said. “So you really have to pace yourself and you have to take care of yourself.”

Read more from the APSHO Advance: Special COVID-19 Series

Related:

The JADPRO Podcast: Like Running a Marathon