To the nurses who give so much of themselves to others every day. You are truly exceptional. Thank you for doing all that you do.
International Nurse's Day 2021
Every year we observe May 12 as International Nurses Day. On that day in 1820, Florence Nightingale - perhaps the world's most famous nurse - was born. She was an English nurse, a social reformer and a statistician who founded the key pillars of modern nursing. So it's only fitting that International Nurses Day correlates with the anniversary of Florence Nightingale's birth.
In 2020 and 2021, we have seen the devastations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since the pandemic began in 2020, the world has seen over 160 million coronavirus cases and over 3 million deaths worldwide. The pandemic has burdened health infrastructure worldwide unlike ever before. However, regardless of the magnitude of the scenario, our health employees-- physicians, nurses and others-- have been at the forefront combating the infection and saving lives.
“It’s time to salute all the nurses who continuously serve the patients instead of thinking about their own family. They put their life in risk to save the life of patients. They are doing the unthinkable.”
Nurses have braved various crisis situations hand in hand with much dedication throughout ages, but it is only after the pandemic that we realise how much we have taken them for granted. Despite being overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, witnessing deaths every now and then, themselves getting infected, and even passing on the infection to their family, our nurses have not stopped coming back to work. The backbone of our healthcare system who have been risking their lives for months. Despite their significance to our health facilities, there is an immediate scarcity of nurses worldwide despite them making up more than half of the health workers, according to the World Health Organisation. According to ICN, more than 1.6 million health workers in 34 countries were contaminated by Covid-19 as of 31st December, 2020.
Amid this backdrop, the International Nurses Day 2021 assumes great significance to express our deep gratitude for nurses and health workers around the world. The theme for this year’s International Nurses Day is Nurses: A Voice to Lead-A Vision for Future Healthcare.
Sources: Business Standard - NDTV - Financial Express - HITC
