Thank you for posting this topic by Mark Lawrence Schrad. It is definitely nice to read this after what healthcare professionals have been through during the past two years of this pandemic. I am an emergency room registered nurse and have worked in the ER during this whole pandemic. Working in the ER meant we were the frontline and protection of the rest of the hospital. During a time when so many people were even scared to leave their home, we came to work and dealt with the unknown. During the beginning of the pandemic our lobby was empty, everyone was too scared to come. However, right after the holidays of 2020, we got our first bad surge in California. I would send most patients up to the ICU maxed out on high-flow nasal cannula and with a 15L nonrebreather on top. It didn’t occur to me that most of those patients did not survive. It wasn’t until I lost my father in law to COVID in September of 2021 that I realized how deadly and devastating this disease was. Overall, this disease changed my personal and work life dramatically. All along this journey, some patients called COVID a hoax, others refused to wear masks. Everyone loved their “health care heroes” in the beginning and that slowly died down. It’s nice to see this post and recognition. I definitely agree we deserve all the benefits of the military. Unfortunately, I am not sure we will ever see the appreciation and compensation we deserve. As for the takeaway for DNP colleagues, this pandemic showed the growing need of DNP educated healthcare providers for an overwhelmed healthcare system. APRN’s can play a vital role in providing healthcare services to different patient populations. I appreciate everyone in healthcare and hope you guys have found some peace during this time of chaos!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Rania Qaqish.