Who on the earth has not benefited from nursing care at least once? Holding a child whose mother is seriously ill, comforting a woman at the bedside of her husband who is slowly dying, or cracking jokes with a young child while dressing his wounds – they are nurses, who provide compassionate care to us with enduring commitment.
Nurses are with people at the most vulnerable moments in life. People trust nurses with their hearts. They live to devote themselves to those most in need, no matter the risk!
Apart from their role as a health professionals, nurses also advocate and care for their patients. They also provide emotional support to the patient’s family. Very often they play their role as a friend, sister or brother, neighbour, or someone who is always available to answer our questions or concerns.
They listen to the patients and assess their physical, emotional, cultural, mental, and spiritual needs. In the current healthcare system, nurses are one of the most trusted healthcare professionals with a significant role to play in the treatment and medical care of the sick.
During the highly contagious period of Covid-19, nurses comprised the major part of the medical workforce. They played a vital role during the pandemic as front line workers of patient care in hospitals and were actively involved with the evaluation and monitoring of the community. They have shown great courage, flexibility, and creativity on the front lines of this fight!
As I think back on this unbelievable period of the pandemic that took hold of our planet, I cannot believe how much healthcare professionals have given and endured to keep us all alive and healthy. The impact that they made is everlasting and immeasurable!
I am a beneficiary of the poignant care, dedication, abnegation, and love of the nurses when I was bed-bound in a Muscat hospital after having been infected with the dreaded coronavirus. I touched death and I'm very lucky to be alive today thanks to the incredible care and dedication of the doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff.
Nurses bring so much to our lives and the lives of the people whom we love. As nurses help bring new life into the world, we need to celebrate them not just for the long list of what they can do for us but for the hard work they put in to make it happen.
So it is apposite that we have a day that honors nurses and recognizes all of their efforts! They are truly the unsung heroes who keep our healthcare systems running and most of all, who give us the care, love, and human touch that we need in times of pain and suffering!
May 12 is marked as Nurses Day every year to pay honor and tribute to all of the nurses around the world for their endless contributions to society. The date is very important to nurses as well as it is the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who is widely considered the founder of modern nursing.
Nightingale, the well-educated daughter of wealthy British parents, defied social conventions and decided to become a nurse, she is remembered around the world as the “Lady with the Lamp.” She took care of wounded soldiers of the British army and their allied forces during the Crimean War.
Not only did Florence Nightingale set standards of health care and nursing in the medical camps and hospitals during the war, but later also established a nursing school in 1860 to provide training to aspiring nurses and healthcare workers.
As wonderful as this icon is, it is important to realize that nurses are role models, representatives of a class of people who are unselfish in the extreme, always placing special caregivers!
The writer is a senior journalist and author with nearly four decades of experience in broadsheet newspapers and magazines in India and the Gulf region
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