I’ve always been amazed by the work of nurses. How they can care for people they don’t know, day-in, day-out, with long shifts and a few “thank yous” now and then. After shifts they return home, and hopefully do not let frustrations of the last shift ruin the rest of the day.
Today is World Health Day, an opportunity 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 effort – 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.”
This is also the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. It’s almost as if the people responsible for establishing these ceremonial days (and years) had a premonition.
The current novel coronavirus emergency and response is a somber reminder of how much we depend on health care workers – and all of them, not just doctors. Not to disparage our physicians – they are truly heroic also. But on the very front lines are the true infantry members of this response: the nurses, midwives, and the many others who reach out and touch the afflicted.
Providing Peace of Mind Along with Care
Anyone remember an instance where a nurse provided more than just direct medical services? Maybe a little human comfort during moments of sheer anxiety?
When I was 10, the forks of my bike broke and fell off while mid-air, and I went face-first into the concrete of a street in Canoga Park, Calif. I was taken to an emergency room, where we learned that two heart attack victims forced me and my parents to sit in the waiting room for a couple of hours.
The end result was gruesome. They had to re-open the wound on my chin, just to be able to stitch it back together. My mom said she could hear me scream as they inserted the needle for pain-killer. I remember the blood draining down the side of my neck.
I also remember several nurses who stood at the side of the bed and cooed reassuring comments. That they weren’t panicked did wonders for my disposition.
I got through it (albeit with 8 stitches, a dislocated jaw and 4 baby molars cracked open long-ways). And it was not my only ordeal with emergency rooms.
But I survived each and every ER visit. The common denominator? Caring nurses were always there.
All Hail the Team Players
Getting through this COVID-19 incident will take cooperation from everyone. The government, health care system as a whole, and you and your neighbors.
It is not the time to play the blame game – throwing out allegations of who did or did not do what. Save the political arguments for the fall.
Right now, we need a holistic approach to overcome what essentially is a global natural disaster. Holistic means whole, as in, the whole world needs a buy-in for the best results.
We knew before today’s crisis that we were short on nurses. Becoming a nurse has been among the biggest health care stories for years now.
And calls for better preparation for pandemics is not new, either. However, words and action are two different things entirely.
So be ever grateful for the work of nurses, midwives and all the other front-line workers in this time of need. It’s so easy to forget in the moment, when you’re lying on an ER bed wondering what will happen next.
It’s another matter to take action after-the-fact to do something to help make everything better. Remember the vital health care workers during this crisis.
Thanking Health Care Workers and First Responders
How? It could be as simple as gestures of gratitude, such as the #SolidarityAt8 movement. Every day at 8 p.m., for two minutes people are encouraged to yell out their windows, clink cowbells or otherwise make some noise – all in appreciation of the first responders in the novel coronavirus emergency.
While showing our appreciation might not alleviate the real fears of our nurses and health care workers today, it’s a start. Who doesn’t want to feel appreciated? Show your appreciation for these front-line heroes somehow. Please feel free to share your ideas! I’d be happy to report on them.
Health care burnout was a serious national issue before most of us had ever heard of a coronavirus. Let’s not forget the care givers after all this has passed.
