Nursing the world to health

There could not have been a better year than 2020 to be designated as ‘The year of the Nurse and Midwife”.  I am sure no one ever predicted the global pandemic when this theme was being planned and discussed.

Nurses- The Unsung Heroes have been on the front lines no just when it comes to the virus itself; but also, when they battle the suffering, depression and struggle all around them on a daily basis. 

One of the nurses who works is a medical unit in New York recently said to me: “The deaths hit us, the nurses, really hard, mainly because they happen quite frequently. To watch them suffer and die all alone, in the absence of their family members is heart breaking”.  While our patients suffer physically and emotionally; we are traumatized too”

Moreover, functioning in the new normal; where nurses are required to wear their PPE for 8-12 hours on a stretch has been challenging to say the least.  Working while physically being uncomfortable, hot, hard to communicate with glasses fogging up with the mask and worrying about every step you take and everything you touch inside and outside the room, has been nerve wrecking.

Having said this, it seems a little superficial and inappropriate to casually wish nurses with a Happy Nurses Week!  This year, all over nurses have been going above and beyond their call of duty while opting to stay away from their own families with fear of spreading the contagion to their loved ones.

One of the nurses said with remorse in her eyes; “We knew way before, that we would contract it ourselves one day, for we faced shortage of PPE from day 1.  We were well aware we could die from it too.  In the same lonely way, our patients have been dying.  And yet we resolve to go on.  We give the best that we can, each day battling a mixture of fear, anxiety and a deep-felt inner turmoil”

As nurses, we work not just with the patient but with the families too.   One of the nurses working with cancer patients in the oncology center was heard saying, “There comes a point in our lives where we know we have done all there is to do for our patients.  That’s when we start thinking, let’s focus more on their loved ones.  They are victims too.  They need to be informed and educated to take making or breaking decisions”

Our experience , education, passion, and resiliency, our calling to work with the ailing global population is special, for most times emotionally taxing but ultimately rewarding.

In these unsettling times, more often than ever, patients come to us with their doubts, questions and concerns.  They are visibly scared, skeptical, and at times even paranoid.  What amazes me the most in this profession is that as a nurse, and as a person, I have been given the gift to determine how people feel and respond in certain situations. That is something that I work on improving every day. I want people to know that I truly care.  As nurses, we are always observing.  We watch out for unspoken cues.  We learn with each new interaction.

Nurses globally have stepped up and taken various roles  across health system and community settings to assess and provide care to individuals, communities, and populations; advocate for justice and quality of treatment outcomes; and partner with legislative bodies to identify, implement, and evaluate a multi-disciplinary approach that involves communities addressing local, national and global health issues.

Treatments and medicine modalities rapidly advance, and nurses have a need to continue their education throughout their careers. We owe it to our patients, ourselves, and our profession to keep abreast of all the latest advancements in our field.  As we learn new interventions and treatments, we build our repertoire of wholesome healing for our patients.

And as we gain new knowledge, we must pass it on.  As we mentor new nurses, as we take on the roles of preceptors, we shape the new generation of nurses.   We prepare them for their roles.   We prepare them for the ‘reality shock’ of the clinical settings, as they transition from nursing school to clinical practice.  And that’s how we play our role in “Nursing the world to health”.