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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2021 | Volume
: 26
| Issue : 1 | Page : 86 |
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2020: The heroes with the Lamp and Corona--Virus pandemic
Fatemeh Bahramnezhad1, Parvaneh Asgari2
1 Department of Critical Care Nursing, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Spiritual Health Group, Research Center of Quran, Hadith and Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of PhD Candidate in Nursing Education, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| Date of Submission | 19-Jun-2020 |
| Date of Decision | 15-Jul-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 05-Oct-2020 |
| Date of Web Publication | 18-Jan-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Parvaneh Asgari
PhD Candidate of Nursing Education, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran
Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijnmr.IJNMR_199_20
How to cite this article:
Bahramnezhad F, Asgari P. 2020: The heroes with the Lamp and Corona--Virus pandemic. Iranian J Nursing Midwifery Res 2021;26:86 |
Dear editor
International Council of Nursing's (ICN) theme for International Nurses Day 2020: A Voice to Lead – Nursing the World to Health focuses on the true value of nurses to the people of the world.[1] It was as though 2020 had predicted the vital role of nurses in providing health service since with the outbreak of the coronavirus in December 2019 from Wuhan, China, and its rapid spread around the world, as a severe global public health threat, the role of nurses has doubled.[2] Nurses, as models of patience and self-sacrifice and as compassionate mothers, care for patients with coronavirus disease. They have always been at the forefront of fighting infectious diseases, including Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and Ebola. However, the global severity of the coronavirus is higher than that of the mentioned diseases.[3] Although coronavirus has negative effects such as fear, pathogenicity, and mortality, this threat, as an opportunity, has made nurses more visible and changed society's view of nursing.[2] Lack of nursing staff, working in high-risk conditions, being isolated, wearing personal protective equipment, and lack of sufficient and precise information have doubled the problems.[4] However, these days caring for patients with coronavirus disease reminds the nursing community of the guiding beacon for nurses, the Lady of the Lamp, Florence Nightingale, as her sacrifices are being repeated. During the current war against coronavirus, the crisis could underscore the importance of investing in nursing and overcoming nurse staffing shortages to balance supply and demand in order to access quality health systems and reduce nurses' burnout. Involving nurses in health system policymaking, helping to address the nursing shortage, making an effort to reduce the gap between education and practice, and supporting nurses during providing homecare are among the most important measures that need to be taken to support the largest members of the treatment team, thus maximizing the potential of these white-clad angels and preventing their burnout. In addition, due to the importance of observing health tips (such as wearing a mask, maintaining social distance), community-based care and the presence of nurses in primary health care centers, with an emphasis on educating and empowering the community, should be considered by health policymakers. It is essential that the problems and needs of health care providers be addressed in order to create a safe healthcare system that can respond to future national crises.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
Nothing to declare.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Treston C. 2020: Year of the Nurse and Midwife. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care 2020;31:261.  |
| 2. | Dai Y, Hu G, Xiong H, Qiu H, Yuan X. Psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on healthcare workers in China. medRxiv 2020.? |
| 3. | Kim Y. Nurses' experiences of care for patients with middle east respiratory syndrome-coronavirus in South Korea. Am J Infect Control 2018;46:781-7. |
| 4. | Choi JS, Kim KM. Crisis prevention and management by infection control nurses during the middle east respiratory coronavirus outbreak in Korea. Am J Infect Control 2016;44:480-1. |
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