Anna
Erway
May 2021
Anna
Erway
,
RN
George Washington School of Nursing
Ashburn
,
VA
United States
Anna's ability to speak up and advocate for her fellow nursing students tells me that she has so much to contribute to nursing.
Nursing students are always under a lot of stress but this past fall semester was something else entirely. The students had to navigate online classes, strict Covid testing, PPE requirements, and maintain social distancing while trying to learn a very hands-on profession. Anna was a student in my med-surg 2 lab class. As a lab instructor (and former nursing student) I know that hands-on time in the lab is vital for students, yet our time in the lab this fall was strictly limited. I had to move quickly through a large amount of material. Anna stood out as a student who was willing to speak up and ask questions. She let me know that I needed to slow down and explain something more thoroughly. When the students around Anna began to nod their heads, I realized she was speaking up for all of them. She was willing to share her own vulnerability for the benefit of everyone. This quality of speaking up for others is such an important skill in a nurse. This past year we nurses have labored alone in Covid rooms working for hospital administrators who had never set foot in a Covid room. We saw death and suffering on a new and terrible scale. What kept us going was one another. And Anna's ability to speak up and advocate for her fellow nursing students tells me that she has so much to contribute to nursing. Because to be there for the patients we have to be there for each other. Anna exemplifies the type of professional courage we should all aspire to.