Pandemic and burnout: why nurses choose to stay

Nurses are tired of seeing a negative image of their profession over and over again, and want to share the positive side that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought them.

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While many exhausted or upset nurses made the decision to quit the profession in the past year, others instead affirmed their passion.

“The fun thing is that we were such a tight team that we always supported each other. One day, if someone was less healthy, if they couldn’t go any longer, we would try to put it back together, and we would make up for it,” says Alexandra Dempsey, a nurse at the institute. That person.” University of Cardiology and Pulmonology of Quebec (IUCPQ).

But the latter admits that it has been shaken by the epidemic.

“A lot of pain, a lot of tension. It was something. I think that affected all of us,” she told TVA Nouvelles.

For nurse Martin Duclos, who also works for the IUCPQ, COVID-19 was synonymous with work, but despite everything, he never thought of abandoning the ship.

“We saw tired people, people dying, but we were all there together,” he says.

This solidarity and working atmosphere are essential for nurses to be effective, believes Domitil Bouchard, another nurse at IUCPQ.

She is pleased that she did a little Overtime Compulsory (TSO) while working at the university institute.

“In two and a half years, I had an OSI. Knowing you would return to your position at 7:30 a.m. and leave at 3:45 p.m. as planned is still morally lighter,” she admits.

Nurses from the IUCPQ interviewed by TVA Nouvelles hope the health crisis will not dampen the enthusiasm of the next generation considering choosing this profession.

Faced with perceived shortages across Quebec, Legault’s government is seeking to hire more than 4,300 nurses.

– According to information from Karian Bowers