Up to 13 million nurses will be needed to fill the global shortage of nurses, while 4.7 million new nurses will have to be educated and employed just to replace those who retire. Kate Woodhead RGN DMS discusses the challenges ahead and the importance of investing in education and training
The resilience of healthcare staff worldwide has been dealt a body blow in the last couple of years. What will be the longterm consequence of this for nurses and nursing and subsequently patients? We are facing challenging times, as the global crisis of the pandemic ebbs, but war in Ukraine may signify hunger in developing nations in the coming year. Healthcare too has its challenges with exhausted staff, lack of equitable access to vaccines in low and middle-income countries and many children who have missed out on regular immunisations, as healthcare has battled to fulfil the immediate need.
Last year, and now continuing, is the fact that the world economy is facing a huge downturn – which, in turn, affects countries where poverty and suffering will increase, always impacting the most vulnerable. All these factors may well affect the supply and mobility of nurses after the pandemic, both domestically and internationally.
The International Council of Nurses reported in 20201 the following data which present a baseline from which to ensure we move forward dynamically and on a global basis.
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