How to Help during Nurses Week
Chatham University has a proud legacy of educating compassionate, career-ready nurses and healthcare professionals. Now more than ever, their services and skills are critical to our safety on a global scale. But who is caring for our healthcare workers? How can we support them safely and meaningfully? Read on for concrete ways you can give back to nurses giving their all, plus Assistant Professor of Nursing and Practice Experience Coordinator Jennifer Wasco, DNP, RN shares her thoughts on the important role education plays in supporting nurses during difficult times.
Nursing students from Chatham College, c. 1955-1959. Image provided by the Chatham University Archives and Special Collections
How To Help Nurses Right Now:
Stay. Home.
Flatten the curve and make less work for our overtaxed medical system and simply stay home when possible. Though many areas are attempting phased reopening procedures, use good judgement and common courtesy in venturing out. Maintain distance when you can, wear masks to protect others, and if you’re healthy, run errands for at-risk people to minimize their exposure.
Whatever You Do, Be Organized
Every hospital, clinic, and doctor’s office is different, and will have different needs during COVD-19. Though the gesture is a kind one, dropping off a bunch of food unannounced at a hectic hospital will just create more problems to be solved by an already busy staff. Pick a place you’d like to help and call to assess their needs before you act.
Volunteer Your Skills
Can you speak multiple languages? Volunteer to translate signage or policies. Are you a good communicator? Offer to field phone calls. Everyone is good at something— think creatively about what you can do and then research how you can best offer it to your local healthcare centers.
Send Feel-Good Food
Everybody loves pizza, and we’re no exception to that. But if you’ve decided you’d like to send restaurant-prepared food to a hospital ward, think about including healthy options too. Food is fuel, so try to send vegetable-laden dishes, healthy proteins, and think about a few meat-free options too. Better yet, when you call to ask if a donation of food would be welcome, ask for suggestions!
Think Outside the Day Shift
Though all nurses and healthcare workers deserve our heartfelt thanks, some may feel a little overlooked. Elder and longterm care facility nurses, home healthcare workers, and those on the night shift don’t always get the same attention in the media, but still face the same challenges. If you’re looking to donate PPE or food, ask where the most need is and consider donating there.
Offer Personal Help
If there’s a nurse or healthcare professional in your life, offer your support. It could be as simple as texting them when you’re on your grocery run, or (safely) checking in on their kids, pets, plants, and home when they’re on a long shift. Small gestures can have big impacts in stressful times. Just knowing they have help— even if they never take you up on it— can be an incredible confidence boost to our nurses.
A Note from Jennifer Wasco, DNP, RN:
Assistant Professor of Nursing and Practice Experience Coordinator Jennifer Wasco, DNP, RN
“This year we celebrate the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of nursing. This year the World Health Organization celebrates the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. In May, we celebrate nurse’s week. And it seems since the arrival of COVID-19 to our country in early March every day is nurse’s day.
“I am not currently on the front lines being in academia, but my students are. I see the depth of destruction from this virus through a different lens. I hear about ethical dilemmas, emotional fatigue, and uncertainty. Yet through their stories, I have observed tremendous commitment and dedication to continuing their education during this unprecedented time. They face problematic obstacles – the pressures of being employed with healthcare systems under enormous stress coupled with maintaining the rigor of their academic journey and trying to balance family responsibilities - yet they remain passionate.
“In a faculty role at this time, more than ever, we must continue to provide the necessary tools to graduate humble leaders. We must continue to graduate educators that can teach the public – and each other. No matter what role every nurse has, each one of us plays a role in the future well-being and the health of our population. We must continue to be advocates for our communities, and we must be the change-makers, the heroes to get things accomplished, so we never see this type of pandemic again.
“As Florence Nightingale said, ‘I am of certain convinced that the greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs while the world whirls…’ Stay strong heroes.”
Chatham University most sincerely thanks our nurses and healthcare providers for their unflagging service, today and every day. To find out more about the many Nursing program offering at Chatham, visit our website.
