Examining the Global Nursing Regulatory Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing regulatory bodies (NRBs) worldwide adopted a variety of measures to bolster the nursing workforce and ensure patient safety. PURPOSE: To examine the plethora of actions undertaken by the global nursing community in response to the public health emergency so that NRBs can increase transparency and better prepare for future crises. METHODS: In early 2021, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing developed an online survey to capture data on the global regulatory response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey focused on five specific domains: (a) governance, (b) telehealth practices, (c) nurse mobility, (d) prelicensure education, and (e) the disciplinary process. The instrument was translated into 11 languages before being deployed to 150 non-U.S. regulatory representatives. Frequencies and proportions were generated for all fixed-item responses, and descriptive content analyses were applied to translated open-text responses. RESULTS: Regulators representing 27 jurisdictions provided valid responses to the survey. Most jurisdictions reported that components of nursing education were adapted in some way during the pandemic. More than half (53.8%, n = 14) of respondents indicated that changes were made to clinical and didactic curricula to ensure students graduated on time. About one-third (30.8%, n = 8) of representatives revealed that their jurisdiction had made changes to telehealth regulations, with many granting telehealth-specific nursing licenses. Most jurisdictions (88.5%, n = 23) also reported fewer or about the same number of regulatory complaints compared to before the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study highlight the range of actions nursing regulators worldwide adopted, which may be drawn upon to inform best practices to ensure jurisdictions are ready for the next public health emergency.