During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have been lauded as important frontline healthcare workers who interacted with patients directly to provide different forms of care. Such interactions have affected the nursing workforce in numerous ways (Chan et al., 2021). Understanding these implications in a variety of situations is essential for conducting research, executing innovative strategies, and developing supportive guidelines to mitigate such impacts and to prevent them from recurring next time a pandemic such as COVID-19 strikes (Barrett & Heale, 2021). Therefore, it is important to explore how COVID-19 has affected the nursing workforce both directly and indirectly.
Need a similar paper? Order a nursing paper on any nursing topic from our top nursing writers
Many nurses have died and some of them have suffered psychological impacts due to COVID-19 (coronavirus). A report by the World Health Organization indicates that approximately 110,000 nurses in May 2021 after contracting COVID-19 from their places of work (Barrett & Heale, 2021). Additionally, the pandemic seriously worsened the nursing shortage that is already experienced by many nations globally. As the number of COVID-19 patients increased rapidly in 2020, nurses had no choice but to work extra hours. A good number of them suffered burnout and mental fatigue which eventually caused negative impacts on their quality of life. Reports indicating the rise in the number of nurses with different mental conditions confirm the psychological impacts that COVID-19 has had on nurses. For example, Al Thobaity and Alshammari (2020) reported increased incidences of depression and anxiety among nurses during the pandemic. Junior nurses in many healthcare settings have also suffered bullying and maltreatment in the hands of senior nurses during the pandemic.
The media profile of nurses, as well as their public image, has been raised significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. People have been talking about nurses regarding the effort that they have put in caring for patients infected with COVID-19. Some practitioners have been honored due to their contributions to nursing during the pandemic (Koren et al., 2021). This high profile for nurses, both in the media and in the face of the public never used to exist before the pandemic. With this changed profile, nurses are making efforts to make unique contributions that can make them be recognized by their employers the public (Barrett & Heale, 2021). This translates to an increase in the quality of care delivered to patients with different types of illnesses.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses have found themselves performing roles that they did not imagine they could execute. Nurses, as frontline healthcare professionals, have engaged in numerous activities during the pandemic across different healthcare settings including nursing homes, long-term care agencies, acute care hospitals, community-based clinics among other facilities (Shu-Ching et al., 2020). For example, in addition to providing primary care, nurses have been providing health education to patients and members of the public on the factors that increase the risk of one developing COVID-19 and how to mitigate them. These educational sessions have focused on infection control strategies such as washing hands regularly, avoiding public gatherings, and maintaining social distancing. Moreover, nurses have found themselves engaging in screening patients more than they used to do before the pandemic. They have been screening suspected cases and those who have been in isolation and quarantine for some period of time (Shu-Ching et al., 2020). These roles helped to keep incidences of COVID-19 low.
Order this paper