Nursing
Summary
Nursing is a dynamic, person-centred discipline that underpins global health systems by delivering direct patient care, coordinating interdisciplinary teams and advocating for patient safety and wellbeing. The profession encompasses a spectrum of roles—from registered nurses providing acute bedside care and community practitioners supporting health promotion to advanced practice nurses leading clinical innovations. Current research has focused on workforce resilience, retention strategies and the integration of digital technologies such as telehealth and mobile monitoring. Global shortages, high turnover rates and occupational stress have driven studies into the determinants of burnout and turnover intention, while interventions promoting psychological resilience and professional satisfaction are emerging priorities. Concurrently, the shift towards evidence-based practice has been supported by large-scale surveys, conceptual models and systematic reviews that map key job demands and resources. Practical applications range from digital modules to mitigate stress and structured leadership training to optimise role enactment. Sustained international collaboration is vital to address workforce imbalances, to embed continuous professional development in curricula and to harness technology for accessible, equitable care. Through this multifaceted approach, nursing research steers not only clinical practice improvements but also policy reforms that aim to strengthen the profession and ultimately enhance patient outcomes worldwide.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have quantified turnover intentions, revealing that depersonalisation and job dissatisfaction directly predict intent to leave among European nurses, whereas work engagement exerts a protective effect. In another multicentric cross-sectional investigation across four countries, high-risk workplace bullying and elevated burnout were strongly linked to increased suicidal ideation among nursing staff, highlighting the urgent need for organisational policies that foster supportive work climates, peer cohesion and targeted mental-health support.
Research from all publishers
A systematic review synthesised digital and face-to-face resilience interventions for nurses, finding that web-based programmes delivered significant short-term gains in self-reported resilience at four to five months, although traditional workshops lacked consistent effects. An integrative review of reviews applied the Job Demands–Resources framework to nursing and identified work overload, lack of formal recognition and work–life conflict as key demands, with transformational leadership, autonomy and collegial support as critical resources; bolstering these resources was shown to buffer burnout and reduce turnover intentions.
Nursing publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in nursing across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Turnover intention: An individual’s conscious and deliberate wilfulness to leave their current position or profession.
Burnout: A work-related syndrome characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment.
Depersonalisation: A component of burnout involving a detached or indifferent response towards those in one’s care.
Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model: A theoretical framework positing that job demands drain energy whereas job resources foster motivation and wellbeing.
Work engagement: A positive, fulfilling, work-related state marked by vigour, dedication and absorption in one’s professional role.
References
- The Key Job Demands and Resources of Nursing Staff: An Integrative Review of Reviews. Frontiers in Psychology (2020).
- Intention to leave, depersonalisation and job satisfaction in physicians and nurses: a cross-sectional study in Europe. Scientific Reports (2024).
- Effects of interventions to promote resilience in nurses: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies (2024).
About these summaries
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