====== Task sharing ======

In geographic locations currently facing or anticipating the wave of [[COVID-19]] patients, [[neurosurgeon]]s can begin [[task sharing]] to strengthen workforce systems while continuing to [[triage]] operative cases and invest in contingency plans if the pandemic is prolonged
((Robertson FC, Lippa L, Broekman MLD. Editorial. Task shifting and task sharing
for neurosurgeons amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. J Neurosurg. 2020 Apr 17:1-3.
doi: 10.3171/2020.4.JNS201056. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32302998;
PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7164328.
)). 

Task sharing uses tiered staffing models with collaborative teams of specialists and less qualified cadres who share clinical responsibility and rely on iterative communication and training to preserve high-quality outcomes. The application of task shifting and task sharing for medical, surgical, and neurosurgical specialties in low-resource settings has shown that task sharing is preferred to task shifting to maintain safety.

As patient burden exceeds provider capacity, there will be greater pressures to use a task-shifting approach with less oversight, but task sharing is preferred when possible