Policy Recommendation Synthesis for Nursing Practice Workforce Development: Production, Distribution, and Retention due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to synthesize policy recommendations on nursing workforce development: production, distribution, and retention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The quantitative data were collected from 396 samples through the questionnaire on actual and expected workforce retention operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative data were collected from 120 subjects through in-depth interviews. The findings were as follows: 1) Pre-pandemic situations of production, distribution, and maintenance of nursing workforces relied on the production plans of educational institutions. The teaching style and the distribution of nursing profession were based on big hospital setting, and the maintenance of nursing workforce as a whole was inappropriate to workload. 2) During the pandemics, the production plan did not change. However, a variety of functions and skills needed to deal with changing situations were delivered through on-line and in class to learners to solve the skill shortage problems. The movements of trained nursing workforces to cover high nursing care needs at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of field hospitals in the community up to the intensive units in hospital. Retention measures were found in various compensation plans appropriate to the increased burdens and risks. 3) Post-pandemic policy proposals for nursing workforce were on the production, distribution, and maintenance. On the production side, long-term production plans should take account of the actual needs of the country’s health service system. In terms of distribution, there should be a review and planning the distribution of nursing staff in health care facilities at the ministry level, regional health systems and health care facilities at all levels systematically to have appropriate number of workforces according to geographical contexts, population health needs and levels of nursing services complexity. In terms of workforce retention, guidelines should be developed for building nurses morale and motivation.