Nurses are an essential need in the world and there has always been a high demand for them, especially in the medical world. . During this COVID-19 pandemic, the demand is especially high.
Hospitals all over the word are filled with patients fighting COVID-19, also known as Coronavirus. COVID-19 is a virus that attacks the lungs and is very harmful to one who is diagnosed.
There are 746,625 active cases of Coronavirus in the United States. Additionally, there are around 2.98 million registered nurses. This number includes all nurses, RNs, at home nurses and hospice care.
Brittany Smith, an at home RN nurse, receives phone calls everyday asking if she will go work in hospitals around the country to care for COVID-19 patients. “It is such a hard decision to make, but I always have to say no and I feel awful for doing that,” she says. “I have a family to look out for and I don’t want to risk the chance of getting sick.”
New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and two of our neighboring states, Illinois and Michigan are states who are in the top ten for most Coronavirus cases in the United States.
Miguel Moreno, a transport nurse in Naperville, Illinois, works with COVID-19 patients daily. “We are choosing to work despite the fact that we may become infected,” he says. “The amount of courage and will power to continue to face this threat is unmeasured but we still fight.” he exclaims.
The chance of catching COVID-19 while caring for patients with the virus is extremely high, and many nurses and doctors have been diagnosed with the disease. This is also part of the reason why there is a shortage of nurses as some are fighting the disease at home.
Being a nurse during this pandemic is very scary and many are risking their own lives to save the lives of others.
