Nursing Leadership and Management During Health Crises
Summary
During major health crises such as pandemics, natural disasters and mass casualty incidents, nurses occupy pivotal roles spanning strategic leadership, operational management and patient advocacy. Effective nursing leadership and management demand rapid decision making amid ambiguity, robust crisis communication and the ability to deploy resources efficiently while ensuring staff safety and well-being. Key competencies include flexibility in workforce mobilisation, structured planning for surge capacity and fostering an environment of empowerment and support. Leaders must balance clinical imperatives with organisational objectives, integrating digital and telehealth solutions to maintain continuity of care. Psychological support mechanisms, training in disaster preparedness and adaptive scheduling models help to sustain workforce resilience under prolonged stress. Globally, these strategies have informed policy frameworks and guided nursing education to prepare clinicians capable of navigating future emergencies.
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Nursing Leadership and Management During Health Crises publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in nursing leadership and management during health crises across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Crisis communication: The structured dissemination of information to stakeholders during emergencies to ensure clear, timely and accurate messaging.
Organisational empowerment: Practices and structures that confer nurses with access to resources, information and support, enhancing autonomy and decision-making capacity.
Resilience: The capacity of individuals or teams to adapt, recover and maintain performance in the face of adversity and prolonged stress.
Workforce mobilisation: The strategic recruitment, deployment and reorganisation of personnel to meet fluctuating demands during health crises.
References
- The COVID‐19 Pandemic Challenged Nurse Managers’ Daily Leadership Work: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Nursing Management (2023).
- The changes in the nursing practice environment brought by COVID-19 and improvement recommendations from the nurses’ perspective: a cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research (2022).
- Factors protecting Swiss nurses’ health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study. BMC Nursing (2023).
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