The Roles of Innovative Nurses in the COVID-19 during the Pandemic and Difficulties They Experience Yeliz Doğan Merih Turkey Institutes of Health Presidency, Health Sciences University Hamidiye Faculty of Nursing, Innovative Nursing Association, Turkey Abstract Background: This study aimed to include the work of innovative nurses in the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic period, their roles, and the difficulties they experienced. Methods: The data were obtained from messages sent to the Innovative Nursing Association’s e-mail and the participants who participated in the manual and online survey of the associ- ation. The study sample consisted of 150 nurses and midwives among the members of the Innovative Nursing Association who agreed to participate in the study. Frequency distribution was used with the SSPS package program for statistical evaluation of the obtained data. Results: It was determined that the awareness of the participants about the innovation pro- cess is sufficient; they have been actively involved in innovation studies before; and trainings, role modeling, and consultancy are provided by the Innovative Nursing Association for the promotion of innovation among our colleagues. It was determined that, during the pandemic period, the studies performed to activate the innovation process were interrupted, difficulties were caused by the disruption of collaborations in the production process of innovative prod- ucts, and the products developed were generally directed toward protective products. Conclusion: Regular training, role modeling, and scientific activities that introduce the inno- vation process make the process more interesting, and guide nurses are crucial for activating the innovation process in nursing. Keywords: COVID-19, nursing, innovation, pandemic 69 JERN Journal of Education and Research in Nursing Original Article DOI: 10.5152/jern.2021.60420 Doğan Merih Y. The Roles of Innovative Nurses in the COVID-19 during the Pandemic and Difficulties They Experience. J Educ Res Nurs. 2021;18(Supp. 1): 69-75. Received: June 15, 2020 Accepted: February 10, 2021 Copyright@Author(s) - Available online at www.jer-nursing.org Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Corresponding Author: Yeliz Doğan Merih E-mail: yelizmrh@gmail.com Introduction Innovation, which has become the symbol of transition to the economy of creativity in the age of information, is the development process of novel approaches, technologies, and working styles. It is the entirety of creative processes that transform information into a usable form. As a process, innovation means “transforming an idea into a marketable product or service, new or improved manufacturing or distribution system or a new social service.” 1 Among the main institutions of the health sector, hospitals are supposed to be innovative with the idea of achieving sustainability and competitive power and better responding to the needs of patients, healthcare personnel, and other stakeholders. 2-4 In light of all develop- ments, nurses who have a significant place among healthcare professionals have also taken active roles in the innovation process over time. 5,6 Considering the changing healthcare necessities, the profession of nursing needs creative and inquisitive members who can access, create, and use information. 4-7 Advancements in technology, prolonged life expectancy, health problems, and changes in the health system have increased the need for nurses who are experts in their field to develop novel and innovative projects. (8–11) Many studies on nursing have focused on innovative behaviors in health services. These studies emphasized that developing innovative behaviors in nurses is possible. 12 For example, Knol and Linge 13 pointed out that institutions need to prepare the required conditions for empowering nurses in the innovative behavior process. Weng et al. 14 stated that innovation in nursing is a summary of nurses’ creation of information, display of innovation be- haviors, and spreading of innovation during the process of care. They found the information creation level of nurses to be the highest and the innovation spreading rate to be the lowest. 14 In all fields of nursing, innovation and innovative practices are highly important. Organization has a large place especially in starting, orga- nizing, and pioneering comprehensive work in this field. The Innovative Nursing Association was established on May 18, 2016 with its center in Istanbul with the purpose of providing counseling for nurses to achieve effective and desirable outcomes in provision of care, adapt to constant change, and integrate the innovation process into their services; supporting health in nursing practices; preventing diseases; defining and preventing risk factors; increasing health-improving behaviors; and being able to provide more qualified care and treatment. Since the day it was established, the Association has provided Innovative Thinking Training for nursing and midwifery students at many schools and for nurses and midwives at hospitals and carried out education and workshop work regarding the innovation process for thousands of nurses and midwives in several symposia and conferences. As a result of the comprehensive work that has been conducted, 100 individuals among the members of our association have received patent or utility model certification, and the certification process of