Over 100 YorkU Nursing students thank front line nurses for their dedication to world health in the fight against COVID-19.
I’d first like to say thank you for your dedication, strength and resilience. Thank you, for showing up to work, to take care of my friends and family amongst all this chaos. I am more than grateful to know that if I happen to get infected, you will be at the hospital to try and save my life. I see snippets of the circumstances you have to endure day to day through various sources of media. But I can’t even imagine the pressures you are under, and the stress that you must be feeling. While I have the privilege to be studying from home, you are risking yourself, and your family to try and save another’s life. It is so honorable and selfless of you. There aren’t any words to describe my admiration and appreciation towards you. But I can confidently say that you are exactly why I am studying to enter this profession called nursing, and I can only hope to be as courageous as you, if, g-d forbid, another pandemic occurs.
As a front-line worker, you are probably exposed to COVID-19 more times in one day than I would be in a week or even a month. You are the one who is monitoring patients and who is constantly within the patient’s environment – whether they be infected with COVID-19 or not. You are the one who is constantly interacting with family members and friends who may be infected but not showing any signs or symptoms. So just by showing up to work, I feel that you are being a leader in showing the public the dedication, accountability and courage that nurses have. It truly shows, that it takes a certain individual to become a nurse, and not just anyone can be in this profession.
I’d also like to say that I feel that you are not only treating individual patients, but also the whole nation. You may not see it this way, but this is the way I see it. The world is fighting with something that we aren’t fully knowledgeable of, and you are at the front line fighting in this crisis. Even under the circumstances where there is a lack of PPE, you are still there, at the hospital to save lives. You are there, making difficult decisions and risking your health, even though you did not sign up to be a COVID-19 nurse. You are the one treating our community and trying to prevent an even worse situation by educating our community. You do this by telling the patient’s friends and family, loved ones, and anyone who asks, of the most correct and current information on the virus and how to protect themselves.
I’d like to end this by saying thank you again. Of course, this is something I cannot say enough. You deserve recognition for everything you are doing for all of us. But I truly don’t think there will be a medal or trophy out there quite big enough that will encapsulate what you are doing right now. It is a hard time for us all, yet YOU are still fighting to help my friends and family even if you are sleep deprived, tired, and are with any of the emotions you may be feeling. So, I hope that this letter can make you feel even the slightest bit supported, admired and appreciated.
Sending you the most love and wishing you and your family safety through this madness.
Best Regards,
M.Y., York University Nursing Student