Apologies for the prolonged Substack absence, between packing up our lives in Darwin and trying to find a new place to settle, I have been working on a piece which has been very emotionally challenging to write. I’m hoping to publish that later today, but I wanted to get this short piece out first, in honour of International Nurses Day.
What a difference a year makes. Like many others have observed over these last few months, some of the nurses and other healthcare workers who were hailed heroes at the outset of the pandemic for putting their own safety at risk to care for others, are now labelled selfish, stupid, anti-vax and anti-science simply for exercising their right to refuse a medical procedure. These same healthcare workers remain locked out of their jobs in the face of a worsening national health services crisis.
I’m choosing to be hopeful as I see many people who perhaps supported COVID-19 vaccine mandates to begin with, slowly realising that they make no sense whatsoever. While I don’t believe they ever did, I’m grateful to share more and more conversations with people (and overhear a few more), in which they voice their frustration over the fact that COVID-19 vaccination does not prevent infection or transmission, therefore it makes no difference to allow vaccinated and non-vaccinated people access the same spaces (and by extension, jobs).
With elective surgery waiting times blowing out to years (here, here and here), the worsening ambulance ramping crises in multiple Australian jurisdictions (here, here and here), and the awful news that several people have now died while waiting for paramedics to arrive (here, here and here), it beggars belief that nurses, doctors, paramedics and other healthcare workers who have declined COVID-19 vaccination, many of whom would return to work in a heartbeat if permitted, are being denied the opportunity by arrogant and stubborn politicians who care more about their own egos than they do the health of the Australian people.
As most of you will already know, I am no longer a registered nurse (you can read my open letter to AHPRA in which I surrendered my nursing registration here, if you haven’t already). This year’s International Nurses Day brings many emotions up for me personally, as I grapple with how much has changed for me this last year. I am angry and resentful that I (and thousands of others) have been treated this way after years of dedicated service in a field that I thought cared about informed consent (can you believe they still claim to?!); I am sad that my time as a registered nurse came to an end the way it did; I am grieving for the part of my identity which was inextricably linked to my role as a nurse; and I am looking back happily on all the patients I helped during my nursing career, while also feeling proud to be supporting others in a new and different way now. I might not be a ‘registered nurse’, but I’ll always be a nurse.
To all the nurses out there, I say ‘Happy International Nurses Day!’. In particular, if you are a nurse who is unable to work due to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, thank you for putting your proverbial money where your mouth is. Your actions speak volumes and much more loudly than those who claim to uphold the fundamental elements of medical ethics while silently going along with this damaging public policy (I’m looking at you AHPRA). Your principled stance, often at great personal cost, is of paramount importance not only in demanding your own rights are respected but that every person’s rights are respected. They may call us selfish, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Hold the line.
There's a new healthcare system being built that is REALLY about caring for health, and you will be more than welcome in it!
Another great piece of correspondence from a nurse who is still, and always will be, a nurse x