To Table of Contents
If there is one standout feature that defines nurses , it is their ability to think on their feet . Not only are they on the front line , but additionally , perpetually on the brunt line . Nurses have stepped up , they have answered the call .
Now we are calling on lawmakers to step up , too .
This National Nursing Week , the second during the global pandemic , instead of supportive tweets or well wishes , we are calling on lawmakers to do something that nurses actually need . Pass legislation that prioritizes the physical health and mental well-being of Canadians to honour all our nation ’ s nurses . Let National Nursing Week be extended to a full month .
Now more than ever , it is important to raise the visibility of the critical work nurses do . Honouring our nation ’ s nurses has become more profoundly significant as they continue to work in a pandemic , making a month of recognition even more well-merited .
Never have our jobs been more critical , never have they been more dangerous . Every day , we risk our health along with that of our families in order to keep the country safe , even in the presence of the government ’ s initial failure to provide the required tools to do the job safely .
Although life as we know it has changed , the core character of nurses has not . But no one imagined that the critical importance of nurses in our society would have been brought so sharply and clearly into focus , by an unwelcome and unknown virus — COVID-19 .
Nurses are the heart of health care . We have answered the call , and you have heard us all . Will the lawmakers respond ?