Thank You in the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife and the COVID Pandemic
By Debbie Dellinger
T he World Health Assembly designated 2020
the International Year of the Nurse and the
Midwife in honor of the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale ’ s birth and to highlight the critical role nurses play in healthcare and patient outcomes ( World Health Organization , 2020 ). Now , 2020 has evolved into a year where we realize and recognize the professionalism , leadership , and courage nurses display every day in a multitude of settings across the country and the globe .
Representing more than 59 % of the healthcare workforce according to WHO ( 2020b ), nurses have stepped up to face the COVID-19 pandemic head on , working double and triple shifts , foregoing vacation , traveling to help teams in hotspots , and standing in parking lots to administer tests . Others have doubled down in their areas of expertise — caring for those with chronic and acute diseases , ensuring babies are safely delivered , and supporting wellness and preventive care for us all .
One nurse shared that her hospital looks like a war is being waged – and indeed it is . The lack of information about the virility of the contagion and the wide spectrum of symptoms and outcomes has been taxing . It has been widely reported that nurses are risking their health due to repeated exposures to the COVID-19 virus , but they continue to show up , suit up , and meet the challenge of this pandemic . This same nurse reports that , while her fear is always present , her endorphin levels are off the charts and her adrenaline keeps her going .
The human dimension of care that nurses provide is all important , and stories from the front line of COVID-19 have highlighted this heroic act of caring for a person . We , who are not nurses , are profoundly moved by , and grateful for , the nurses who have stepped in to be present for our loved ones – soothing their spirits , alleviating fears , and caring for them when we could not . Because of the compassion and great skill of nurses across the globe , our loved ones have not been alone in their illness or in their last moments .
One elderly couple , who succumbed to COVID-19 this past spring , became ill on different days . As each was admitted to the hospital and then the ICU , the nurses made sure their beds were not just next to each other , but close enough so that they could hold hands . A picture of their interlocked hands taken by a nurse in
34 NSNA IMPRINT n SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 n www . nsna . org