Jolanda Hyska1
1Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine, Tirana, Albania.
Nurses today work in a dynamic health care environment. Their roles and functions are constantly evolving and changing to meet patient needs as well as incorporating service needs such as workforce shortages, skill mix issues and budget constraints. Nurses make up the largest workforce within the National Health System, and are among the first people present to provide care during periods of crisis.
Nursing workforce in Albania like in many others countriestoday has made a substantial contribution during the Covid-19 public health emergency.
A Context analysis in view of the development and implementation of new job profiles and roles for family nurses in Albania showed that this updating is considered very important, as Albania has to face with new challenges in primary care created by a changing spectrum of illness and disorders and the growing necessity to find needs based solutions for complex, long-term health problems.
The lessons learned so far from the COVID 19 pandemic clearly showed the immense cost of inaction; inequitable response to Covid-19; nurses are and will continue to be at the frontline of patient care in hospitals and actively involved in community evaluation, monitoringand awareness raising regarding disease prevention and in reductionofthe dissemination of myths regarding the epidemic. These lessons emphasize the need for strong nursing staff engagement in clinical management, awareness and knowledge exchange, and public safetyduring a global pandemic. Therefore, a strengthening of nurses’ knowledge and skills is needed for more positive results now and to secure a preparedness for future outbreaks.
Updates on new job profiles and roles for family nurses in Albania should also address these needs.
Keywords:COVID-19,family nurses, new job profiles, primary health care.