From the call to action: Challenges and possibilities of post-pandemic nursing

By Mônica Maria de Jesus Silva

With great joy and enthusiasm, I invite you to reflect on the challenges and possibilities of post-pandemic nursing, as a call to action.

In the midst of the health crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses from all over the world demonstrated their commitment to the lives of individuals and families, dedicating themselves to intense work in direct patient care; in health education on prevention measures; and in research, promoting evidence for decision-making. Nursing also adapted the care and organizational way of working, regarding the management of health services, human resources and maintenance of care during the pandemic.

Although the world had experienced other health crises, few had such an unprecedented impact and challenges as the one created by the Covid-19 pandemic If, on the one hand, the pandemic has abruptly transformed our way of living and organizing ourselves politically, economically and socially; on the other hand, it taught us the importance of the results of science, reciprocity and leadership.

In the region of Latin America and the Caribbean, nursing highlighted the strength of its leadership and managed to extract the best expression of competence and dedication, in different care scenarios, providing fuel to advance and defeat the virus. This feat signals the excellence of our nurses and the transformation of nursing that we want for the post-pandemic world.

That said, nursing actually gained the necessary visibility so that, in addition to social recognition, the need for improvement in working conditions was observed If the strengthening of robust health systems is an urgent post-pandemic issue, the way in which professionals who are fundamental to the sustainability of these systems work is equally essential It is not possible to produce responses to a pandemic without investing in a profession that is central to the health system – nursing.

In Brazil, the pandemic scenario has also rekindled old debates that brought up old challenges with new aggravating factors, such as the discussion regarding Distance Learning (EAD) in the training of