CPCNA Nursing Week Webinar: “Grieving When the Dust Settles”

“Grieving When the Dust Settles” presented  by Dr. Kim McMillan

Over the span of the pandemic, nurses have been thrust into the public spotlight - deemed heroes by political figures and portrayed as such in the popular media, donning capes, and wielding healing superpowers. Behind these images and hero narratives nurses on the front lines of the pandemic are working tirelessly in at times, unimaginable conditions. The work that nurses have done this past year and will continue to do until this pandemic draws to a close will no doubt take its toll on a profession already disproportionately impacted by mental health concerns which range from burnout to post traumatic stress disorder. Covid-19 will likely exacerbate these concerns as it has availed nurses to unprecedented experiences of loss; not only the loss of human life, but the loss of a way of being and doing our nursing work. Nurses have answered the call, but at what cost? This presentation will attend to the aftermath of this pandemic, notably the suffering, grief, and bereavement that the profession will need to journey through when the dust settles.