Abstract
In many areas of the world, the discipline and profession of nursing has been strengthened through the efforts of strong and effective leaders in education, research and clinical practice. The Seventy‐second World Health Assembly designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife; not only to honour the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, but also to recognize the contributions of nurses and midwives to the health and well‐being of the world’s population. Recently, on World Health Day, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released the State of the World’s Nursing 2020 report providing data on nursing globally (WHO 2020). The report also provides a compelling case for development of the global nursing workforce, investment in nursing education, jobs, and leadership. However, operationalizing these recommendations will require investment and support at all levels of government and across all health jurisdictions.
Though nurses have and are serving at the very frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, an enemy about which so little was (and is) known, overall and when compared to other health professionals, also at the front line of the pandemic, nursing has had a much lower profile. Many commentators on social media have commented that nursing has not had a strong enough voice, and that the interests and concerns of nursing have not been well acknowledged or addressed. Read the full article here.
This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi:10.1111/jocn.15305
