COVID-19 and the Impact on the Nursing Informatics Workforce

COVID-19 has drastically changed the lives of millions around the world. The pandemic has shifted care from in-person appointments to virtual care through various telehealth modalities seamlessly overnight. Priorities for care were reestablished and our nursing workforce was forced to adapt working in a variety of specialties and working conditions. Countless lives have been saved; however, in September 2021, the American Nurses Association declared the resulting nursing shortage a national emergency. The purpose of this review is to begin to examine in more depth the impact of COVID-19 on the nursing informatics workforce and explore how technology and workflow can be further adapted and implemented as potential solutions for the nursing workforce as a whole.

In December 2021, the South Texas Chapter established a taskforce to begin to investigate challenges the informatics community is facing throughout the panhandle. The group’s central goal is to identify immediate and long-term technology and workflow actions that must be taken to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic such as staffing and supply shortages. Understanding these effects in various contexts is essential to conduct research, implement innovative interventions, and create supportive policies. A literature review is also in the process of being conducted.

Lessons learned through the workgroup are anticipated to discuss a variety of issues regarding policy, training, and clinical workflow and how they can be redesigned to assist providers and patients.