Honoring our Nurses during Nurses' Month

When I began my career in nursing several years ago, I never could have imagined what nurses would experience in the wake of a global pandemic. In addition to caring for patients, staying abreast of the latest innovations, and staying current on professional education, licensing and certification requirements, the pandemic created a groundswell of new duties and added stressors for nurses and the healthcare system. Across the country, nurses had to adapt quickly to new safety protocols and new regimens for care. They had to do so, while they themselves faced their own fears and risked infection from COVID-19 exposure. For more than two years, nurses have found the resolve to stay strong and grounded while displaying compassion, excellence, integrity, teamwork, and professionalism.

Despite the many challenges posed by the Pandemic, we’ve seen nurses channel the spirit of innovation. In those moments of uncertainty, I’ve seen nurses lean in to lead in new ways, to innovate and to shine, all in service to serve their patients.

Over the past two years of an unprecedented public health crisis, nurses have delivered their best every day, under extraordinary circumstances – because that’s what nurses do. With this month being Nurses’ month, I urge all of us to offer our profound thanks and deepest gratitude to our extraordinary nurses.

The entire month of May is an opportunity to express our appreciation and our pride. It is also a time to consider what the future of our nursing workforce will look like. I share this because, the Pandemic has led to the transition of many nurses into new careers, with others making the decision to retire. To remedy this, we will need to commit to thoughtful planning and efforts across all aspects of healthcare and education to help draw more nurses into the field and to keep our current nurses practicing in this critical profession. This will take all of us bringing our best ideas forward.

However, for this moment, as we settle into something that feels closer to normal, let us reflect on the truly amazing care our nurses have provided this year. ?Let us honor their resilience and let us celebrate them fully for all that they have done.

Enjoy this special video featuring some of Kaiser Permanente’s nurses in the Mid-Atlantic States celebrating their important work and each other.

Please join me in thanking and lifting up our nurses on social media with the hashtag #ThankYouNurses and #NursesMonth, and in encouraging the next generation to do the extraordinary, too.?