'To work in emergency medicine, you need to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie'
Mira Gandhi started her nursing career at Humber River Regional Hospital just over 40 years ago, in February of 1982. She had been planning to retire in late 2020, but when the pandemic hit, she changed her mind. Here, she tells us why she decided to keep working through Covid, and reflects on how much the nursing profession has changed.“It had always been my plan to retire in December of 2020, when I turned 65.
“As Covid wore on, people became impatient and irate over vaccine mandates and visiting protocols. I dealt with one woman who wanted to visit her father in the Covid ward. When I told her that we didn’t allow visitors for Covid patients, she snapped, “You don’t understand what it’s like to have a loved one who is sick.” At the time, my uncle, who had gone missing, was just found dead.
“My nurse’s uniform was a starched, crisp white dress with pristine white nylons, white shoes, a white cap and no makeup, nail polish or jewellery allowed. One day, I came into work with my hair in a ponytail instead of in a tight bun and was reprimanded by the head nurse, who told me that I had better find a way to put my hair up, or else she would have to send me home. The stress of having to look and behave perfectly all the time was intense and exhausting.
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