Thank you….thank you….thank you
During this incredibly challenging time, I would just like to take the opportunity to say a massive thank you to all health workers around the world who are working under extreme pressure and putting their own lives at risk on a daily basis in order to save others from this terrible virus. Over the 12 years that we have been preparing candidates for IELTS, a large proportion of our students have been nurses, midwives, paediatricians, doctors, surgeons, pharmacists and care workers, so as teachers we have learnt a lot about their professions and the conditions that they work under during normal times. It is by no means an easy sector to work in. It requires a lot of training, a lot of personal sacrifice and a lot of hard work, although as many of our students tell us, it is also an extremely rewarding vocation, knowing that you are making a difference to people’s lives and an invaluable contribution to society.
During these unprecedented times, when much of the world is living under lockdown, quarantined at home and uncertain about the future, the life-saving skills of our incredible doctors and nurses, not to mention their own personal sacrifice, has never been greater. I live in Spain, where the effect of the coronavirus has been particularly harsh, and at 8pm every evening we get an opportunity to thank the amazing health workers in our country for the huge battle they are facing every day, not only in treating the sick and dying, but knowing that many won’t survive and that they are the only ones able to offer any comfort in the patients’ final hours since their own loved ones cannot be present. I really cannot imagine the psychological strain that this must be causing as well as the physical pressure that they are already enduring.
When I do stop to think about it every evening at 8pm, I am immensely grateful because they really are the true heroes in fighting this pandemic. Of course there are more people we need to be thankful for such as the scientists who are desperately trying to find a vaccine, the factory workers who are making sure we still have food in the shops, the delivery drivers who make sure essential food and medicine reaches people in need, teachers who continue to offer classes online while schools are closed and many others who are taking personal risks in order to keep some level of society going. But I would really like to say a very special thanks to all our nursing students, past and present, with whom I’ve had many, many conversations with over the years and got to know on quite a personal level. I know how much commitment and dedication you all put into your jobs but I can only imagine what you are having to deal with during these extremely difficult weeks.
As a final note, all I can say is that I hope you are all safe and well and receiving the proper care and attention you need as well as your patients. Stay safe and keep doing the amazing work that you do. The whole world is incredibly grateful to you right now and I hope that when this pandemic is over, you will gain the recognition and kudos that you all deserve.
