With healthcare facing new challenges every day, it is important for us to stop and highlight these frontline heroes that keep everything running. May 6th is National Nurses Day and this year they are highlighting the theme of Frontline Warriors, a title that has been well deserved.
Not only have nurses gone through the biggest tests of their careers this past year, but there is also still currently a shortage of nurses in the healthcare arena. However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 0verall employment of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and nurse practitioners is projected to grow 45 percent from 2019 to 2029.1 The nursing community is strong and that has become a pivotal foundation for the occupation.
Even with the COVID-19 pandemic rocking the healthcare industry, a survey from American Nurse Journal’s fourth annual Nursing Trends and Salary Survey shows that 85% of respondents say the pandemic hasn’t changed their career plans and they have no intentions of leaving the nursing industry.2 The resilience, selflessness, and compassion that so many nurses possess keeps our community safe and healthy as they put their health on the line daily.
Just one of the many examples of the huge role nurses are playing in our society is with the COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Many certified nurses have volunteered to help get our communities vaccinated, and this includes retired nurses who came back just to help with the vaccine efforts. In late January 2021, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an amendment to the PREP Act that authorized many health care professionals to help with the administering of vaccines.3 This enabled out-of-state and retired, lapsed, or inactive health care professionals, including nursing and medical students, to help administer the vaccines.
COVID-19 triggered many changes to standard processes for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biologics, and the vaccination effort is a prime example of this all. If you have questions about how your medical product might have been impacted by some of these changes, give EMMA a call at 248-987-4497 or email info@emmatinerational.com to learn where EMMA can help your product.
1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic (2021) Occupational Outlook Handbook, Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners retrieved on 4/30/2021 from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/nurse-anesthetists-nurse-midwives-and-nurse-practitioners.htm
2American Nurse Journal (2020) 2020 Nursing Trends and Salary Survey Results retrieved on 4/30/2021 from https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/an11-Special-Report-SALARY-20-1026.pdf
3Public Health Emergency (2021) Fifth Amendment to Declaration Under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act for Medical Countermeasures Against COVID–19 retrieved on 4/30/2021 from https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/prepact/Pages/COVID-Amendment5.aspx
