Well a nifty moment this week when IntelyCare contacted me with the results of their blogs rankings for 2021. This scribe placed 1st overall and 1st in the category of Career Advice. The blogs evaluated ranged from professional speakers, specific topics, novice and experienced in practice, education, and leadership, professional bloggers, affiliated bloggers and some have podcasts and/or videos.

This blog has been evolving since 2014 and readership has grown in the past few years, a key outcome is when a blog is written people will come to read it. I have been the author with one exception; an entry by a dear colleague Christine Kent. In 2014 breast cancer defeated her in the battle for life, it was a good year as our interest group for staff nurses won best for the year and we submitted a resolution to advocate for more education resources for nurses. Christine had an eclectic career her practice included psychiatry, management, public health, and we called her our token American; as she shared her viewpoints of a publicly funded health system, as well the challenges of staff nurses who faced diminished resources, heavy workloads, and the reminder “what does the staff nurse need, how will this affect them?” Bittersweet she met her grandson and alas her time ran out.

Here in 2022 as we learn to live in a new normal as yet not finalized; indeed it’s 3 steps forward and one back for those of us in central Canada. Nurses have and continue to have limited staffing resources, as an unprecedented number have reduced their employment status, or left the workplace as retired, resigned, dejected, drained, and those still working a significant number are burned out, exhausted, hurting, scared etc.

The holiday season was very quiet, as our family in another household were isolated for COVID-19, Dear Nephew was in limbo for working shifts as a RN due to his family’s status. Compounded when his brother also became positive and the support services to guide employees seemed to be on holiday mode aka not in until January 4th. My sister in-law had the unenviable task of running her team from home (she works for a police service communications team–911) and to paraphrase what a s**t show. The scarcity of staffing resources has hit all our vital core services from police, paramedics, nurses, and frontline workers aka transit, municipal etc. The variant has dived into the community and the volume of cases is not fully known but if the highway today is any indication a lot of people are staying home.

Meanwhile my friends and colleagues in Public Health are in full press to defeat this pandemic never ending event. As they’re transferred to more vaccine focused teams, the overall fatigue described by so many health care professionals is affecting these warriors too. The dynamic process of restrictions, closures, cautions, and the impact of poverty, culture, and many other determinants will have deleterious effects for years to come. It’s difficult to think too far ahead as we hope the variants are becoming milder, we desire outings to theatres, gyms, bars, though with -20 windchill the patio has limited appeal. The effects of living as we have for almost 2 years is showing in mental health issues for children to adults, certainly nursing colleagues for the most part are working through trauma, grief, frustration, and anger. The appeal to repeal Bill 124 is now gathering steam as nurses collaborate with political partners at provincial and municipal levels. The repeal would be one step towards resolving nursing grievances. That may just be the next topic and once more thank you to IntelyCare for the moniker Best Overall Blog, see the buttons below. Namaste.

“Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”

Christopher Robin (A.A. Milne)

Categories: Uncategorized

Paula M

Registered Nurse Storyteller, Healer, Scribe, Transformational Leader