This article is being made freely available through PubMed Central as part of the COVID-19 public health emergency response. It can be used for unrestricted research re-use and analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source, for the duration of the public health emergency.
What a better time to address nurses as heroes and political activists than on this, the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale and in the year of the nurse and midwife? Who better to serve as the model for what nurses must be—guardians and advocates of patients’ welfare? Nurses’ experiences during COVID‐19, visibly documented during nightly news broadcasts, have raised the public's awareness of what nurses do on a daily basis. Such awareness has resulted in the public labelling nurses as heroes. In other words, the public recognises nurses for their courage, bravery, commitment, knowledge, resilience, advocacy and persistence in the face of incredible adversity. Consequently, the public now has a better idea of nurses’ work. However, it is important to acknowledge nurses’ work has not changed; rather, it is public perception that has changed.
One often thinks of heroes as wearing a uniform—think capes, for example. Since the global outbreak began, images of nurses wearing N‐95 masks, face shields and other personal protective equipment (PPE) have quickly spread across news media platforms fostering a newly established public image for nurses as heroes. Nurses have always worn uniforms and PPE; however, their current apparel is now being perceived as life‐saving and critical to the public's health. Heroism in the nursing profession is not a new concept. Nurses across the globe have served as humanitarians, lifesavers and advocates for more than two centuries. Visionary nursing leaders such as Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, Mary Mahoney, Adelaide Nutting and Lillian Wald have paved the way for modern‐day nurses to be champions of health care and social justice. Nurses have always answered the call to serve their communities during times of crisis (American Nurses Association, 2020).
As nurses continue working in a healthcare arena drastically changed by the COVID‐19, antecedent issues intensify during these unprecedented times. Nurses have stepped forward to identify and formally address threats to patient and nurse safety. They have taken to the streets to protest the lack of needed equipment and safe working conditions. When nurses in the United States marched on the White House protesting lack of PPE, they risked having their employment terminated. Nurses in a healthcare facility in California were suspended for refusing to care for COVID‐19 patients without appropriate equipment—fortunately, they were reinstated and able to return to their usual duties. In Chicago, nurses gathered 6 feet apart outside of a hospital demanding more PPE and safer staffing ratios. Nurses have also engaged in counter‐protests, facing protesters rallying for lifting lockdown and stay‐at‐home orders and reading the names of nurses who have been infected with COVID‐19 and have died while working to care for people infected with COVID‐19. These nurses are to be applauded for taking a stand—for being activists at a time when support from leaders and colleagues may be limited, and even absent.
What does their behaviour mean for the rest of us? Terry and Bowman (2020), examining nurses’ environmental activism, found that activism was triggered by threats to human health. The COVID‐19 experience epitomises threats to human health. Historically, nurses have always served as advocates and warriors for social justice. Consequently, now is the time to revisit and reinforce our professional commitment to being advocates for patients and communities by increasing our political activism. Importantly, it is time to take risks by voicing loudly issues threatening patient safety in healthcare organisations and in the larger public arena. It is the time to support public health efforts to address pandemic concerns. It is time to confront elected officials about their commitment to addressing the social determinants of health and social justice. It is time for nurses to be politically sophisticated (Jaurigue & Schmidt, 2020), to seek and serve on district, state or national organisations, to run for political office. Nurses during COVID‐19 demonstrated unwavering courage—that courage needs to be made operational through political activism. To do less devalues our commitment!