Nursing superstars

In the gloom of our corona-filled world, bits of good news periodically brighten our day. Just as we were about to ring in the New Year, we received a heart-warming report about some of our nurses making a splash on the world stage. Eight Pakistani nurses and midwives have featured in the global 100 Outstanding Women Nurse and Midwife Leaders 2020 list. All eight nurses and midwives from Pakistan are faculty or alumni of the Aga Khan University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, SONAM. Intriguing though it may be that no other nurse from any other hospital around the country made it to the top, not too much should be read into this omission. The procedures for selection, it is believed, must be far too rigorous for others to fit the bill.

The list honours 100 nurses and midwives from 43 countries for their contribution to raising healthcare standards across the globe, “especially during these difficult times” of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement issued by the Aga Khan University (AKU). The ranking marks the end of the WHO’s yearlong Year of the Nurse and the Midwife 2020 campaign, which recognises the vital role of nurses and midwives in providing health services. While we celebrate these high achievers in the nursing profession, the name of Florence Nightingale pops up in our minds. She blazed a trail in this noble vocation, which a horde of similarly-inspired nurses followed. We are happy to note that our country too has produced such dedicated caregivers who belong to that horde.

Not only these selected few, but their entire community have held fort and, unlike a derelict soldier, never shrank from duty even if it meant putting their own lives in peril. And the peril has been real, not imaginary. An estimated 230,000 nurses worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, and 600 have died. This context renders their selfless work all the more commendable. They are truly our heroes.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2021.

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