April 7, 2020, is the day to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives and remind world leaders of the critical role they play in keeping the world healthy. Nurses and other health workers are at the forefront of COVID-19 response - providing high quality, respectful treatment and care, leading community dialogue to address fears and questions and, in some instances, collecting data for clinical studies. Quite simply, without nurses, there would be no response.
I have never been so proud to be a nurse then in this COVID-19 pandemic as I watch these selfless heroes care for patients in the most challenging and scary time. I am not practicing nursing on the frontlines but my concern is high for these nurses in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I know their spirit and dedication will persist through fears and challenges. Nurses are strong and resilient but they need as much support and protection as possible at this time. I worked at a big Manhattan hospital at the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s and experienced similar fears, doubts and challenges. This pandemic seems much worse. I never had to worry about having the proper supplies and protective gear. Being protected is a basic requirement to provide care and have some level of confidence you will not contract the virus.
I have been hearing from young nurses on the frontlines and it is the most challenging time in our healthcare system. They are dedicated to doing anything necessary to help their patients but they are living in more fear than usual because of the threat of not having the needed protective gear.
Nursing is the number one most trusted profession in the U.S as documented by the Gallup poll for the 18th year in a row. The most recent poll notes that 85 percent of American’s say that nurses’ honesty and ethical standards are “very high” or “high”.
I heard someone recently suggest that after this pandemic has passed that we need to celebrate and honor our nurses by having a ticker-tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes in Manhattan. I totally agree because every nurse out there on the COVID-19 frontlines is my hero! This article is directed towards nurses but my feelings are the same for all the physicians these nurses are working with during this pandemic as well as other healthcare providers and hospital support staff. This a big team and they all deserve recognition.