This year Nurse’s Week is being celebrated May 6th through May 12th. The nursing profession is held in very high esteem by the U.S. public. For the past 15 years, nursing has been voted the most trusted profession by the Gallup poll survey because of nursing’s ethics and honesty. The public views nurses as “angels” of the healthcare system and holds them in very high regard. Nurse’s Week has always been a time to honor and shine a light on nurses for what they do, but this year takes on an entirely new level of praise.
Nursing During the Pandemic
In looking at magazines and newspaper articles for the past six weeks of the pandemic, pictures of nurses are everywhere comforting patients, holding their hands, administering treatments and care. Despite being overworked, tired, and exhausted, the pictures show seasoned professionals in masks and gowns on the front lines rendering care to patients.
The expectations for nurses during this time went beyond the physical care of the patient. There were so many circumstances during the Covid-19 pandemic that made taking care of patients unique and difficult. Not only was this a new, novel disease that required extreme isolation protocols such as wearing total isolation garb for more than twelve hours at a time, but Covid-19 is also a very contagious droplet spreading virus that can be transmitted easily to those in close contact.
Because family members were not permitted to visit Covid-19 patients due to the high risk of being infected, it was often the nurse who was holding the patient’s hand when they took their last breath. The nurse was often asked to contact the family so that the patient could say their goodbyes remotely. It was a common theme to read that this was both an honor for the nurse at the bedside of a dying patient but also emotionally draining and sad.
Even seasoned ICU nurses who pride themselves on “handling” complicated critically ill cases and who deal with death on a daily basis, were not ready for what the current outbreak brought. One story cited a volunteer ICU nurse from California who came to help in New York, despite her level of expertise she was shocked by the dying patients around her. It was reported often that many nurses would leave their shift and sit in their cars and just cry on their way home.
Going Above and Beyond
In most situations, not only were nurses taking care of sick patients at hospitals, but they were also doing things not to get their own families infected and sick. Most nurses reported they were stripping down before entering their homes, showering in separate bathrooms and sleeping in separate bedrooms and staying away from family to avoid transmitting the virus.
Many stories also spoke about nurses who felt the need to travel to other states to help their fellow nurses care for Covid-19 patients. It was so touching and inspiring to read how many nurses left their home states and ventured to cities with large numbers of cases, such as New York, to help their fellow nurses combat this disease and care for patients. One article cited a nurse who traveled from California to work at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She knew she had the credentials being an ICU nurse to handle the patients clinically, but she admitted she was unprepared for the level of care and dying she encountered. Although most nurses shared graphic scenes of critically ill, dying patients on vents, the majority would not have changed their decisions to come and help.
In a recent magazine article, one nurse quoted, that despite how stressed and fearful she felt working with Covid-19 patients, she would continue because she believes she is growing stronger and more capable at what she was called to do. She stated, “this is why I chose nursing as a profession, this is my calling.” https://people.com/health/caring-for-covid-19-patients-as-stressed-and-fearful-as-ive-been-this-is-why-i-became-a-nurse/
Showing Our Gratitude
Healthcare systems, political leaders, and the general public have been showing their gratitude to nurses in so many ways since the pandemic. It is so overwhelming to witness the “clap out” applause for nurses during the change of shift in many hospitals. My niece, who is an ICU nurse at NYU/Langone in New York City who is caring for Covid-19 patients said, “it means so much to the nurses to hear the thanks from the community, sometimes you feel so alone and isolated.” The country applauds your efforts and we are so grateful for your bravery and what you are doing everyday and if we could, we would give all our nurses huge hugs of thanks- but that would not be social distancing! So for now we give all our nurses “virtual hugs” and thank them for all they are doing during this pandemic and beyond!