Over 100 YorkU Nursing students thank front line nurses for their dedication to world health in the fight against COVID-19.
Thank you for your courage and sacrifice during this pandemic. Thank you for the risk you take each day. Thank you to your family for having the strength to watch their loved ones walk to the front lines. Thank you for each step you take despite the unease and fatigue you may feel. Thank you for pouring your heart out in everything you do. Thank you for enduring something that many could not and even more aspire to have the strength to do. I believe that nursing is one of the most humbling and admirable careers. Nursing is a career filled with self-sacrifice, endless compassion, and profound strength. As a nursing student, I am only beginning to understand the complexity of nursing. I am consistently blown away and inspired by the compassion and grace nurses possess. I believe it takes a great deal of courage to choose a career where one is surrounded by human suffering. Nurses are the ones that bring light to people when they are at their lowest. This is why I have always believed that nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system.
Now more than ever, the community needs a leader to guide them through the unease and confusion. With the great deal of misinformation, sense of panic, and the lack of clarity, the community has turned to healthcare professionals for comfort and answers. I have seen the tiresome days that nurses must endure and the risk they take at those frontlines. I am inspired and grateful for the work you do to keep the community safe. I applaud your resilience and hard work. Unfortunately, a lot of people haven’t fully grasped the impact of the pandemic. It is due to the privilege of meeting your colleagues that I have learned the severity of the situation. The more I learn, the more I realized that it is my social responsibility to encourage my peers to follow social distancing to “flatten the curve.” As much as you are helping our community, I believe the community must do their due diligence to help you as well.
Right now, the end seems very distant however I believe that in due time a solution will be found. As time goes on, the community will further depend on nurses and other healthcare professionals for answers. The pandemic has changed the typical client-centered care to international-centered care. Nurses should be praised for their work and be more appreciated for their role as a liaison between the medical community and the rest of the world. Keep your head up in spite of these challenging times. More importantly, please remember that there are people out there that acknowledge and appreciate you and all your efforts.
Stay safe and remember to take care of yourself as well.
P.M., York University Nursing student