The nursing profession – rise to the occasion

Abstract

The shortage of nurses to provide for the healthcare needs of the country was again emphasised during the two years of managing a pandemic. The desperate need for critical care nurses, emergency care nurses, primary health care nurses and psychiatric nurses was evident, and therefore our future must include training large numbers of professional nurses to provide for these critical shortages. The ageing nursing workforce carried the country through this pandemic, but momentum is needed to prepare the country not only for the current needs, but also for the unknown when the ageing nursing resources will no longer be available to cover for the shortages.