Post-COVID Nursing Workforce Crisis

The post-COVID-19 nursing workforce shortage is a critical global issue exacerbated by growing demand for healthcare services, accelerated retirements, and high turnover rates driven by a lack of supportive work environments, burnout, and mental health challenges (World Health Organization, 2021). The pandemic has intensified pre-existing shortages, particularly in Taiwan, where Liao et al. (2024) identified "The Invisibility of Nurses within the Healthcare System" and "The Moral Duty of Nursing Practice" as significant challenges generally faced by nurses in the post-pandemic era. Moreover, younger nurses, burdened by the pressures of their profession, are increasingly prioritizing considerations such as work-life balance, career flexibility, and supportive environments (Labrague & De Los Santos, 2020). This shift often leads these younger nurses to consider and pursue alternative career paths or non-clinical roles. Younger nurses prioritizing mental well-being and job satisfaction increase the challenges faced by healthcare institutions in terms of recruitment and retention. This shortage poses significant long-term consequences, including strained healthcare systems and reduced patient care quality. Addressing this issue requires coordinated policy interventions, mental health support for nurses, global collaboration, and innovative solutions. The three articles in this issue focused on nursing professionals explore the interrelationships among work engagement, burnout, stress, work environment, and intention to leave in nurses, with one article specifically examining the experiences of younger nurses. Another article in this issue discusses the use of the flow state scale for caregiving tasks on clinical nurses, prompting us to consider how, even when the nursing work environment is slow to change, we may cultivate a state of flow in nurses who are passionate about their profession. Achieving this state may encourage nurses to continue their work with dedication and hope and ultimately facilitate brighter prospects and a greater sense of achievement. Beyond the nursing profession, this issue also covers a broad spectrum of healthcare topics. Two studies examine the use of technology in nursing care, with one investigating the impact of a high-fidelity tele-simulation teaching program on nursing student knowledge, self-confidence, and critical thinking skills in emergency and critical patient care and the other assessing the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of a smartphone-delivered self-management app for adults with rheumatoid arthritis. The remaining studies delve into a diverse range of topics, including the trajectory of suicidality and related factors in patients with treatment-resistant depression during hospitalization and three months post-discharge; the longitudinal trends and factors affecting ADL limitations among people with disabilities; the impact of dementia care training courses on related knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy among healthcare professionals; the relationship between social jetlag and metabolic syndrome components in adults; and the lived experiences of pregnant women with multiple sclerosis. The global nursing shortage not only impacts healthcare systems and quality of care directly but also, over time, poses a threat to social security. Thus, this shortage represents a challenge that countries around the world must face together. As members of the nursing profession, while remaining concerned about this issue, we must also continue producing high-quality evidence-based research on critical issues in our profession.