Setting minimum standards of practice in times of crisis

The COVID-19 global pandemic is certainly taking a toll on all countries of the world. Health care systems are seriously challenged, and shortages both in staff and in equipment are evident even in high-income countries. Nonetheless, one cannot avoid wondering: Were these problems new or did they just exacerbate because of the terrible pandemic? Were there ways to have avoided the trauma faced by nurses (International Council of Nurses, ICN, 2021) after the overexposure to the health care crisis? Such a grim realization has specific implications for nursing. Naturally, one cannot change the world. Similarly, nurses cannot affect all aspects of health care systems that need serious reform. But nurses can affect nursing-sensitive outcomes. Most importantly, nursing-sensitive outcomes can be used to establish criteria for safe nursing practice. Health care institutions must enable health care professionals to function within the scope of their professional ethical codes. After all, systems operate thanks to the professionals comprising them. Similarly, professionals need to be facilitated by systems to function with integrity.