Nurses’ contributions during a medical doctors’ strike: A qualitative study of educational implications for preparing nurses for expanded clinical roles

Purpose: To explore the expanded roles and positive contributions of nurses during a medical doctors’ strike in 2024~2025, focusing on how they sustained patient care in a tertiary hospital and deriving educational implications for preparing nurses for the future.Methods: Data were collected through in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 17 nurses, including advanced practice and specialized nurses, from July 22, 2024 to March 21, 2025. Colaizzi’s phenomenological method was used for the data analysis.Results: During the strike, advanced practice nurses primarily assumed responsibilities typically performed by medical residents, whereas specialized nurses mainly undertook the tasks of medical interns, including medical procedures, critical patient care, and medical documentation. Three major themes emerged: (1) perceived improvement in patient care through nurses’ clinical expertise, (2) perceived enhancement of patients’ and caregivers’ experiences through personalized and emotional care, and (3) perceived optimization of care workflows through documentation practices. These experiential findings highlight the need for structured educational preparations to support nurses who assume expanded roles in crisis contexts.Conclusion: Nurses in expanded roles are crucial for maintaining patient safety and quality of care during medical doctors’ strikes. These findings highlight the need to formalize the scope of practice and prepare nurses for role expansion through nursing education. Competency-based curricula and continuing education should prioritize advanced clinical decision-making, high-risk procedures, documentation competence, and interprofessional communication. Establishing standardized protocols, clear role definitions, and organizational support systems is essential for ensuring safe and sustainable role expansion in future crises.