Nursing in a Post-Pandemic World: Lessons Learned and Future Directions
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, nurses and other medical professionals were on the front lines, providing compassionate care in a time of extreme uncertainty. And although the days of COVID-related lockdowns and social distancing appear to be over, the pandemic's impact on the nursing profession continues to linger.
If you're thinking about getting into nursing as a profession, it's critical to understand the many ways in which the field has changed over the past several years and the future challenges that you could face as a nurse. This way, you can be prepared for whatever might come your way.
The Impact of the Pandemic on Nursing Practices
Since the pandemic, numerous studies have been done on how COVID-19 impacted the nursing and healthcare fields. Ultimately, the findings across the studies remain largely consistent.
Rapid Adaptation to Changing Circumstances
For starters, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for nursing professionals to be flexible and ready to adapt to changes at a moment's notice. Many nurses working during 2020's initial "stay-at-home" orders were abruptly thrown into a level of chaos they could not have possibly imagined. With so much uncertainty regarding the virus and how it could spread in early 2020, nurses had no choice but to don their best PPE and forge forward, continuing to provide the highest standard of care during an uncertain time.
Increased Use of Technology in Patient Care
During COVID-19, the healthcare profession also saw some advancements and adaptations in technology still in use today. The use of remote patient monitoring and telehealth are prime examples of this. More specifically, the use of audiovisual methods of checking in with patients became extremely useful during the pandemic, allowing nurses to conduct patient check-ins with minimal contact or exposure.
Meanwhile, nurses could also rely on remote monitoring technology (often in the form of wearable devices) that would allow them to keep an eye on patients' vital signs and other important health metrics from a distance.
Highlighting the Need for Mental Health Support
During the pandemic, nursing professionals were overworked and reported record-high levels of stress. Much of this was due to the fact that there was already a nursing shortage prior to the pandemic. So, when COVID-19 struck, many hospitals and healthcare facilities were severely understaffed. This left nurses with the stress of managing huge caseloads while navigating the complexities of a global pandemic.
All of this underscored the need for more mental health support for overworked nurses, especially as a 2023 survey by the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) and McKinsey & Company continues to show high levels of burnout and stress among those in the field.
Lessons Learned From the Pandemic
Although the nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic did the best they could with the resources and training they had available, the aftermath of the pandemic has provided some opportunities to reflect and better prepare for public health emergencies in the future.
The Importance of Preparedness
When COVID-19 first hit the United States, nurses had basic infection control practices and similar training under their belts. Unfortunately, many of them lacked the support and resources they truly needed from their healthcare facilities to support this training.
For example, many healthcare facilities lacked the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to protect nurses. Fortunately, a greater focus on emergency preparedness in nursing and crisis management in nursing may empower professionals to adapt to and manage crises as they occur more readily.
Collaboration Across Disciplines
The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted the need for interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare, particularly during times of public health crises. In general, patients suffering from COVID saw better outcomes when their healthcare teams were in constant communication. Nurses needed to collaborate not just with physicians and specialists, but with infection control workers, the CDC, and other healthcare teams. This need for ongoing collaboration across disciplines remains, although so do many barriers to communication.
Advocacy for the Nursing Profession
In many ways, nurses were the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many nurses took on unthinkable caseloads and put themselves in harm's way time and time again to deliver quality care to patients in need during this uncertain time. Yet, they received very little fanfare or recognition. Perhaps above all else, the pandemic highlighted the need for society to have more respect for nurses and enact changes to ensure that nursing professionals have access to the equipment, staff, and support they need to do their jobs.
Future Directions in Nursing
Only time will tell what the future holds for the nursing profession, but there are some emerging and future nursing trends that nurses (and aspiring nurses) should be keeping their eyes on.
Expanding the Use of Telehealth
The use of telehealth became paramount in providing remote patient care during the worst days of the pandemic, but it remains perhaps just as popular today. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the field saw a notable telehealth expansion, with nurses and other healthcare teams relying on virtual meetings to assess and (in some cases) even diagnose patients. In fact, one survey found that 80 percent of physicians planned on continuing the use of telehealth in nursing long after the pandemic ended.
Focus on Mental Health and Well-Being
Thankfully, the post-pandemic world has also highlighted the need for more mental health resources for nurses. Some employers may offer their own resources, but independent resources are available for nurses in the form of:
● The American Nurses Foundation Well-Being Initiative
● For the Frontlines and Crisis Text Line
Enhancing Education and Training
Nurses and other healthcare professionals are also being taught to learn from the mistakes of COVID-19. These workers are receiving additional infection control training, with these topics now being covered in modules within college nursing programs. This, in addition to an increased emphasis on such crucial topics as crisis response and rapid adaptation, is becoming increasingly important as the next generation of nurses is trained and educated.
The Evolving Role of Nurses in Healthcare
During the pandemic, we also witnessed the role of nurses in public health change and evolve in front of our eyes. Nurses stepped up as leaders and advocates in many ways, demonstrating their versatility and adaptability through every twist and turn of the public health crisis.
Nurses as Leaders and Advocates
The COVID-19 pandemic may have stretched the healthcare industry thin, but it also provided nurses with an opportunity to demonstrate their readiness to take on leadership and advocacy roles within the field. For example, as spaces for ICU patients ran out in hospitals, many facilities were forced to create makeshift spaces for patients, and nurses were called upon during this time to fulfill leadership needs. Now that we've seen what nurses are capable of from a leadership perspective, these professionals are continuing to thrive as leaders and advocates in the field.
Embracing Diversity in Nursing
In addition to an increased need for collaboration among healthcare professionals, the field is also starting to see an increased demand for diversity in the nursing workforce. Hospitals and other facilities can benefit from diverse viewpoints, which could further optimize patient outcomes and the effectiveness of healthcare delivery.
Focus on Community Health
Following the pandemic, we've also seen an increased demand for community-based and person-centered healthcare across the board. Much of this will fall to nursing professionals to implement, allowing nurses to make a real difference in improving population health in a post-pandemic world.
Preparing for Future Challenges
Although there are plenty of opportunities on the horizon, nursing professionals must also be prepared for the obstacles that may lie ahead.
Strengthening Healthcare Infrastructure
The healthcare infrastructure across the United States is still lacking, not only in terms of diversity, but in the level of support and empowerment nurses receive on the job. Fortunately, there have been some recent initiatives (such as increased mental health resources for nurses) that may be indicative of positive changes on the horizon.
Research and Innovation in Nursing
Meanwhile, research and further innovation in nursing pose its own unique set of challenges, particularly as it relates to research ethics, data collection, and unsupportive work environments for nurses attempting to make a change in the field.
Policy Changes to Support Nurses
Aspiring nurses must also be prepared to advocate for changes in policy that may better support working professionals in the field, including specific policies to mandate nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals and provide increased funding for nursing education.
Learn More at Indiana Wesleyan University
From the increased use of technology in patient care to the growing need for mental health support for nurses, the COVID-19 pandemic changed a lot in the nursing and healthcare fields. These changes effectively demonstrate how dynamic the nursing practice can be and the need for nurses to readily adapt to change as it arises.
Are you ready to face the opportunities and challenges of today's nursing field? Indiana Wesleyan University's School of Nursing and Health Professions is here to help with a wide range of nursing and healthcare programs to meet you where you're at. Get in touch to learn more about finding the right program for you, or get the ball rolling by completing your online application today.
Sources
https://www.indwes.edu/academics/cas/school-of-nursing-and-health-sciences/
https://www.forthefrontlines.org/
https://www.crisistextline.org/
https://www.amjmed.com/article/S0002-9343(23)00664-2/fulltext
https://usafacts.org/articles/whats-the-state-of-telehealth-after-covid-19/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8489647/
https://www.indwes.edu/contact/apply.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8519660/
https://www.amnhealthcare.com/blog/nursing/travel/best-mental-health-resources-for-nurses/
