What We’ve Learned This Year Working as Nurses

While this year’s accomplishments may not have come in the usual form of bucket-list vacations, new memories shared with loved ones, or large celebrations for personal milestones, there have been many lessons learned and significant personal growth (even if it doesn’t feel that way sometimes).

Amidst many challenges, 2020 has brought us perspective. This year, you as nurses learned the true meaning of your promise to care for others, showing us what that can look like in both the good times and the really, really bad times. It has challenged your skills, your spirits, your bodies, and your ability to work as a team.

As we’ve worked our way through a pandemic, it’s taught us the importance of mental health and how we operate under extreme circumstances. We’ve seen and felt the value of human connection, especially in its absence. At the same time, we’ve learned that some of the things that kept us busy in the past — like appointments, shopping for non-necessities, frequently dining out, or spending most of our time outside the home — don’t always contribute to the backbone of our happiness.

We’ve witnessed the true fragility of life, the need for compassion, the potential we have when we work together for a shared goal, and the power of science – the first of the immunizations will start this month. This year has divided us physically but united us in spirit like never before.

You may not feel as though 2020 was your most remarkable year, but it’s very likely that this year, you’ve done remarkable things. Acknowledge your strength, acknowledge your growth — even if it came from a place of pain and vulnerability — and know that you are our hero.

If time permits, please take the time to watch this video. You may have seen it already but it’s worth taking another look. Like every great fairytale, there are lessons to be learned. It is a great encapsulation of this last year through the eyes of a bedtime story:

“Hindsight is 2020.” – Tom Lehrer