Reclaiming Nurses Week Part 5: An Open Letter to Our Nurses

In the final video of our Reclaiming Nurses Week series, we are offering an Open Letter of Support to our nation's nurses. We hear you. We see you. We are here for you. We see your mental health. This year we have reclaimed Nurses Week and have shined a spotlight on the changes that need to be implemented from the ground up to provide the best support for our health care workers. They cannot continue to be the best caretakers without first taking care of themselves.

In the previous Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 we examined The Problem, The Cause, The Solution, and The Mental Health of Nurses. Nurses shared stories of the impact burnout has on their mental health, how these issues are rooted deeper than just the struggles during the pandemic, what needs to change, and the stigma surrounding asking for help.

Read the transcript:

Lori: I have a lot of hope for future generations of nurses. You do want to be a good nurse. You do want to be committed to your career, but you need to be committed to yourself first, and then your family, however you define your family, and then your profession. That's the rank order of success.

Tamar: Nursing is one of the best careers ever. And I say that wholeheartedly because it allows me to do so many different things. I enjoy my role as a nurse. And I'm hoping that if there is someone out there who's considering nursing as a career, you at least talk to someone to say all the wonderful things that a nurse could do.

Rose: I see you I see you if you are out there struggling, or even in the depth of your mental health, maybe you're not even struggling, and kudos to you, but I see your mental health.

Sarah: Seeking help for your mental health is not a weakness. It's a strength because your patients are going to be under the care of your best self. Once you are taken care of, that's what's important.

Joshua: We have a lot of work to do, and we just got to start talking about it, and we cannot be... We can be ashamed, but let's just talk about that too.

Andrew: That's why we, at Psych Congress, want to reclaim Nurses Week, and take it beyond perhaps the token gestures of appreciation. And instead, have real conversations about our mental well-being. So I hope you'll join me and your colleagues from all over the country, talking about this most important conversation of mental health and wellbeing.

Saundra: And all I can say is this, thank you. Please know that what you do matters. You matter. I want to invite all of us. Let's join forces and advocate for better support for nurses.

Julie: In this series. We hope to show you, we hear you, we support you, and we value your unique contribution to the work we do.

Amanda: We have an institutional obligation to change.

Samantha: I see how you're facing your challenges, and I hear your struggles at work. So this year, we are reclaiming Nurses Week together, and calling for real institutional changes.