What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about the need to develop resilience in the nursing workforce
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about the need to develop resilience in the nursing workforce

Deborah Louise Duncan Lecturer in Education (Nursing), Medical Biology Centre, Nursing and Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Most research on resilience in healthcare systems such as the NHS is based on organisational crises, such as nurse shortages, an ageing workforce and financial restrictions. However, nursing can learn lessons from the past to consider how to become more resilient, particularly considering the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. This article briefly looks at previous pandemics and disasters that have affected healthcare systems, as well as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and considers how nurse leaders can support staff and show organisational resilience during such emergencies. The article also discusses how nurse leaders can develop their own resilience.

Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2020.e1933

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

d.duncan@qub.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Duncan D (2020) What the COVID-19 pandemic tells us about the need to develop resilience in the nursing workforce. Nursing Management. doi: 10.7748/nm.2020.e1933

Published online: 13 May 2020

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