Background The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious threat to public health worldwide. Therefore, a coordinated global response is needed to prepare health care systems to face this unprecedented challenge. Proper human resource management can increase nurses’ productivity and quality of care. Therefore, the present study aims to explore the nursing managers’ perception of nursing workforce management during the outbreak of COVID-19. Methods This is a qualitative study with conventional content analysis using Granheim and Landman approach. In this study, 15 nursing managers were selected by purposeful sampling method. Data were collected using in-depth semi-structured interviews. Ethical considerations were applied to all stages of the study. In this study, MAXQDA software version 10 was used to help manage the data. Results 66% of the participants (10/5) were female. The mean age of participants was 44 years, mean work experience of 19 years, and mean management experience of 9 years. Three categories and seven sub-categories emerged from the data analysis: 1) management of workforce recruitment (volunteer workforces, non-volunteer workforces), 2) management of workforce arrangement (flexible work schedule, rearrangement of the workforce), and 3) management of workforce retention (preventive measures, motivational measures, and psychological support). Conclusion Management in critical situations requires the use of flexible and situational management principles to recruit, arrange and retain workforce, and also to compensate for the lack of manpower.

Background It is widely believed that using personal protective equipment (PPE) provides high levels of protection for healthcare workers (HCWs) in the fight against coronavirus disease (COVID‐19). However, the long‐term use of PPE is inconvenient for HCWs and may cause physical discomfort. These factors could result in poor compliance and disrupt the health and safety of HCWs, which may negatively affect the patient's safety. Objective This study aimed to investigate the literature for the purpose of collecting convincing evidence of HCWs' physical problems associated with PPE use during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods This scoping review was conducted using PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, Science Direct, Springer, Biomed Central, and Google Scholar to identify the related literature. Results HCWs have experienced various physical disorders including skin, respiratory, musculoskeletal, nervous, urinary, and circulatory system problems that are associated with PPE in various body systems. Among these, skin problems were the most frequent physical problems. Conclusions The literature demonstrated the adverse impacts of using PPE on HCWs. Therefore, healthcare policymakers should take the appropriate measures to improve the work environment during the COVID‐19 pandemic, which could consequently prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of using PPE.

Background: Covid-19 pandemic with its sudden and widespread global outbreak has stunned health care systems. Nurses are at the forefront of fight against this pandemic, and Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses are more at risk of infection as they have a greater interaction with infected patients. Therefore, the present study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of Iranian ICU nurses in the care of patients with covid-19.Methods: This is an interpretive phenomenological study in which, 15 ICU nurses were purposefully selected. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to collect data. The transcripts of the interviews were recorded and then analyzed by Diekelmann (1989) method with hermeneutic approach.Results: Ten of the samples were female and five were male. The mean age of participants was 32 years and their average work experience in the intensive care unit was 6 years. Three main themes were obtained from data analysis, including beyond usual care, the emergence of a new image of nursing and the Realization of professional challenges. Conclusion: Working in difficult and unknown conditions with many challenges caused mental and physical depreciation of nurses in the intensive care unit. However, the nurses showed a spirit of self-sacrifice and did not give up their relentless efforts to fight this unknown enemy, and fulfilled their professional responsibilities to provide the best care to patients. By doing so, the nurses showed a new image of nursing to the society. Therefore, full support should be provided to healthcare workers, especially nurses by the authorities in order to prepare them to respond to unwanted crises.

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