Yvonne Sam is a retired head nurse , secondary school teacher and examiner for the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec who has spent decades writing on social issues for worldwide media .
She is originally from Grenada .
Nurses need more than supportive tweets and well wishes by Yvonne Sam
This first person article is the experience of Yvonne , a retired nurse and health-care advocate who lives in Montreal
The theme of National Nursing Week in May was # WeAnswerTheCall , developed by the Canadian Nurses Association to display and flaunt the many roles that nurses play in a patient ’ s health-care journey . The current pandemic and ensuing health crisis has certainly shone the spotlight on the vital contributions nurses make globally .
In Quebec , communities have witnessed that regardless of the day or the circumstance , nurses have tirelessly continued to provide safe , highquality assessment , intervention and care . They have adapted to new roles , in multiple settings to ensure safety , while continuing to provide the nursing services most needed among those whom the pandemic has made clear are most vulnerable .
Like so many others in my profession , I felt called to be a nurse . Even though retired , I still remain a nurse — advocating for nurses and tutoring nurses in training . Although I loved my career as a nurse , nursing is not without its challenges and stresses . Inadequate staffing remained an ongoing challenge , a fact that contributed greatly to feeling stretched thin and overworked .
Fewer nurses on duty simply translates into a heavier workload . For a nurse who takes the care of her patients seriously , it is frustrating not having enough time to devote to each individual patient , or to interact compassionately with families . It was mentally and emotionally draining to feel unable to provide adequate care and always feeling rushed .
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