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International Nurses Day: Nurses transforming the future of healthcare
Author: Portia Jordan
Published: 12/05/2021

Wednesday (12 May) is International Nurses Day. In an opinion piece for Cape Times, Prof Portia Jordan from the Department of Nursing and Midwifery writes about how nurses are transforming the future of healthcare.

  • ​Read the article below or click here for the piece as published.

Portia Jordan*

Nurses are an unstoppable force, and an incredible workforce in the healthcare environment.

According to the database of the South African Nursing Council, there are approximately 400,000 nurses in South Africa, making nursing an integral and crucial part of our economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the United States of America expects nursing job growth of 12% through 2028, much faster than the average occupation.

Nurses are the heroes of our healthcare system, caring for both sick and healthy individuals across the world. The global COVID-19 pandemic has shown the world the important role that nurses play in keeping people healthy across the lifespan. As our country combats the pandemic, it has been proven that nurses play a critical role in keeping the healthcare system functioning and well managed. Although there has been significant disruption to healthcare in the face of an unprecedented pandemic, there has also been significant innovation that has improved access to care. The questions thus arise: “What does the future of nursing look like for these heroes of the healthcare system?" “What role will nurses' play in the future transformation of health care delivery?"

The International Council for Nurses (ICN) annually leads the global celebrations for International Nurses Day, which is observed on 12th May. The celebration is in honouring of the anniversary of the birth of the nursing trailblazer and pioneer, Florence Nightingale. As announced by the ICN, the theme for this year's International Nurses Day, follows on from previous years, with the overarching theme: “Nurses – A Voice to Lead" and the sub-theme for 2021: “A Vision for Future Healthcare." This implies that nurses should continue to lead in care delivery, yet at the same time take responsibility to transform healthcare and to cast a vision for healthcare. Nurse innovation in the face of an unprecedented global pandemic and health crisis will be the focus of the 2021 nurses' celebrations.

According to the Institute of Medicine Report published in 2010, it was then already reported that nurses will lead the future. The report highlighted the need for more nurses to study towards degrees and to pursue speciality nursing degrees, including doctoral degrees. In South Africa, nurses have the opportunity to further their qualification mix and skillsets by means of enrolling for the new undergraduate Bachelor and Diploma in Nursing, as per Government Gazetted Regulation No. 174. Further, as per Education and Training Guidelines for Postgraduate Programmes, sixteen clinical specialist and two newly regulated nursing qualifications (Government Notice No.  R635 of June 2020) are available for nurses to expand their specialist knowledge and skills. These speciality fields include Forensic Nursing, Emergency Nursing, Critical Care Nursing, Orthopaedic, Ophthalmology, Oncology and Nephrology Nursing, to name a few.

Education and training of nurses will transform health care as nurses enhance their decision-making, critical thinking, psychomotor, cognitive an affective skills and use best practices and evidence-based practice as their underpinning. Whether working directly or indirectly with patients, nurses who specialise will be leading the future of nursing. Their skills and knowledge will make them one of the most prominent pillars that uphold our healthcare system.

The trajectory of the future in healthcare, and nursing in particular, points towards increased digitalisation. Innovations such as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics are becoming increasingly integrated into all industries, with health care being a leader among them. As a crucial part of the system, nurses share a lot of contact time with patient, thus bridging the gap between the traditional and new-age divide of technology with skill, understanding and frequent interaction. Nursing schools globally are embracing technology and digitalisation by means of telehealth, mobile application with the latest clinical practice guideline at hand on the clinical platform, virtual simulation, Second Life simulation scenarios, using haptic devices, and electronic data capturing and patient interface systems.

Nursing and health informatics' growing role is changing the way nurses record and communicate patient information, how care is coordinated, and the development of evidence-based practices is orchestrated. In addition to affecting nurses' day–to–day work, the use of informatics is creating opportunities for nurses to focus on the intersection of nursing and data. Nurses can transform health care by pursuing jobs such as clinical informatics specialists, nursing informatics specialists, clinical analysts or nursing informatics analysts. Nurses, as an unstoppable workforce, will transform health care as they embrace the rapid changing world of technology.

Nurses bring an important voice to management and policy discussion as they lead improvements in healthcare quality, safety, access and value. As future leaders in transforming healthcare, nurses need to see themselves as decision-makers that are highly influential and able to change health outcomes. Healthcare institutions should foster the recruitment and appointments of well-prepared nurses to public policy and healthcare institutional boards at national and provincial levels. Nurses can transform healthcare in providing a roadmap to politicians and policymakers, thus expanding healthcare and ensuring health for all.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the enormous strain experienced by the health system. However, in response to this pressure, nurses as the largest provider of health care took the responsibility to lead, advice, care and spearhead the revolution of the healthcare system. Nurses are at the heart of patient care; they are a linchpin for health reform and a vital link in transforming delivery of care.

As we celebrate International Nurses Day 2021, let us recognise nurses as: “the voice to lead, who has the ability to vision and transform future health care."

*Professor Portia Jordan is the executive head of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery in the Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences at Stellenbosch University.