The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in education systems worldwide. The suspension of face-to-face lectures and clinical placements directly impacted nursing students’ learning. This study aimed to identify the perceptions and representations of senior nursing students about the transition to professional life during the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study used a web-based survey from a convenience sample of 162 senior nursing students, from nine different nursing schools. Data collection was carried out in the second quarter of 2020. Male students have more negative representations related to training (p = 0.048); working students have a better perspective of professional integration (p = 0.038); students who are in a relationship have a more positive perception of interaction with patients (p = 0.047); those who have already defined a service of choice have less insecurity and less fear of making mistakes (p = 0.043). Those who report anxiety about their first place of work have more negative representations about the future in other professional dimensions. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a frequent concern among students. However, it is a dimension that does not negatively contaminate other representations about the professional future. Overall, students showed concerns regarding their performance in providing direct care to the patient and lived up to their fellow nurses’ expectations.

In Europe 20% of the working population is somehow involved in shift work. Studies show that it can have a negative impact on workers' health and well-being, with direct consequences on performance...

Heart disease includes a variety of diseases, conditions, and disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels [ 1 Babič F , Olejár J , Vantová Z , et al. Predictive and descriptive analysis for heart disease diagnosis. 2017 Federated Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems. 2017;11:155–163. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] ]. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a short-term Ventricular Assist Device (VAD), indicated in cardiogenic shock and respiratory failure, when surgical or conventional therapeutic measures are not successful, and the most used in the case of heart failure is venoarterial ECMO [ 2 Chen K , Chen Y , Yeh S , et al. Changes in quality of life and health status in patients with extracorporeal life support: a prospective longitudinal study. PLOS One. 2018;13(5):e0196778–16. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] , 3 Farias ACA. Cuidado de enfermagem especializado à pessoa dependente de oxigenação por membrana extracorporal (ECMO). (Tese de Mestrado). Lisboa: Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa; 2015. [Google Scholar] ]. The aim of this study is to understand the ECMO technique in adult patients with cardiac disease, as well as the associated Nursing Interventions. This study is an Integrative Literature Review by the PI[C]OD method. Available articles were searched in the Biblioteca do Conhecimento Online (B-On) and EBSCOhost databases, published between 2014 and 2019. The inclusion criteria were ECMO, person with cardiac disease and successfully nursing interventions. Of the total of twenty-seven articles, 14 were excluded by title, six by the abstract and four by full reading. Three articles were included in the corpus of the study. The articles included allowed to identify three main ideas: in the first article, a specific nursing care protocol was developed for patients with VAD [ 4 Machado RC , Gironés P , Souza AR , et al. Protocolo de cuidados de enfermagem a pacientes com dispositivo de assistência ventricular. Rev Bras Enf. 2017;70(2):353–359. [Google Scholar] ]; in the second study, VADs can be an intermediary mean for cardiac transplantation [ 5 Aissaoui N , Morshuis M , Maoulida H , et al. Management of end-stage heart failure patients with or without ventricular assist device: an observational comparison of clinical and economic outcomes. Eur J Cardio-Thoracic Surg. 2018;53(1):170–177. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ]; however, in the last study, ECMO may present physical complications and depressive symptoms [ 2 Chen K , Chen Y , Yeh S , et al. Changes in quality of life and health status in patients with extracorporeal life support: a prospective longitudinal study. PLOS One. 2018;13(5):e0196778–16. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ]. Studies have shown that in patients with unstable cardiac pathology “ECMO is life saving, and should therefore be considered a viable extension for conventional treatment options for critical care” [ 3 Farias ACA. Cuidado de enfermagem especializado à pessoa dependente de oxigenação por membrana extracorporal (ECMO). (Tese de Mestrado). Lisboa: Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa; 2015. [Google Scholar] ]. Although VAD is a reliable alternative to transplantation, when it is not available or when the patient's condition is hemodynamically unstable, heart transplantation remains the first-line treatment [ 5 Aissaoui N , Morshuis M , Maoulida H , et al. Management of end-stage heart failure patients with or without ventricular assist device: an observational comparison of clinical and economic outcomes. Eur J Cardio-Thoracic Surg. 2018;53(1):170–177. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] ]. We think that the results of this study can subsidise the exercise of teaching nursing care, allowing students to build structured knowledge, which allows to identify the real needs of the person submitted to ECMO. At the level of clinical practice, it is important to discuss the results of this study within the team, ensuring patient safety and the quality of nursing care based on scientific evidence.