By María Margarita Rabhansl de Desmery, Director of Postgraduate Studies at the School of Nursing of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Universidad Austral.
The resumption of daily activities—with a degree of normalcy—could be a sign that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been with us for these years, has been overcome. However, as we know, the evidence of its impact is multifaceted and affects thousands of people, including healthcare professionals, and more specifically, nursing staff.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, healthcare staff continuously took on new responsibilities, designed and implemented new processes, and adapted to reassignments within the professional service. All of this was accomplished in record time, driven by a critical situation that demanded an urgent response.
The individual impact was even greater: there was an overload of work, exhaustion, and what was known as "moral stress." Furthermore, there was anxiety about the fear and risk of contracting the virus and infecting those close to them, prior to the development of vaccines. Not to mention the death of colleagues, family members, or friends.
The same year the pandemic was declared, the “International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife” was also commemorated. That was the year the World Health Organization (WHO) aimed to highlight, globally, the importance of human resources in health, and particularly those in nursing.
A report on the situation, published at the beginning of that year, was already conclusive: the 2019-2020 data indicated that the global shortage of nurses was estimated at 5,9 million and that this shortage was more pronounced in low and lower-middle income countries.
Only two years have passed since then, but it's worth asking: what trends can we observe now in nursing? Several studies have shown not only that nursing staff intended to leave the profession during the pandemic, but that even afterward, between 10% and 25% considered leaving the profession altogether. Some of the factors contributing to this decision include excessive workload, job dissatisfaction, lack of institutional support, and poor working conditions.
In a hospital, nurses are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and their skills make a significant difference in people's health outcomes. Therefore, these studies cannot be ignored; on the contrary, they must be considered by stakeholders in the healthcare system, administrators in the public and private sectors, human resource managers, and those responsible for university education. Furthermore, they should promote the development of strategies to strengthen the nursing workforce at all levels of healthcare through investment in education, employment, leadership, and service delivery.
If we are to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the need to recruit, support and retain current health human resources globally is imperative, as there is a possibility of a shortage of approximately 18 million health workers by 2030.
It is essential to plan actions and strategies to support staff, assessing their needs and considering their well-being and health. If we take care of our healthcare workforce, the benefit is and will be mutual.
Source: Clarin.com
