What lessons can we take from reverse innovation?

For nurses, COVID-19 has radically challenged how they deliver care, with existing resources continually being stretched well beyond normal usage. The result is that innovative approaches are essential to redress shortages, support the continuance of services and maintain patient safety. As nurses who have had the opportunity of working with various Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), we believe nursing has been adversely affected by a missed opportunity to recognise the knowledge and expertise seen and learned by nurses who have worked internationally. There is little evidence of how the lessons learnt have been transferred and adapted for application in a high income country (HIC) at any time, never mind during the pandemic.

LMICs work permanently with a limited workforce under financial and resource constraints and have learned approaches to care delivery and equipment use that may be appropriate for our current overstretched and reduced workforce with its increasingly limited resources. We acknowledge that this nursing is extremely difficult and exhausting, in these times of great need, but the role of the nurse remains to deliver care and safeguard patients in the best possible manner, given available resources. This is about working to meet the challenges brought about by the pandemic, by recognising and taking our colleagues' best experiences and adapting them to fit the healthcare system.