Pastoral prayer for nurses and allied health workers

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) issued an update that said: “World’s nurses facing massive trauma, immediate danger to the profession and future of our health...”

For those of us who can’t do anything other than support them with our thoughts and prayers, here is a prayer:

Gracious God

At times when there are many millions battling virus, there are health workers stretched to beyond breaking point.  Our nurses at the frontline are suffering silently, with support only from embattled colleagues and their families, and perhaps mental health and other services that are made available to them.

Our nurses know there is generic community support for their essential work, but that’s vague at best when they require concrete interventions for their support, rest and recovery.  Hear their prayers and ours.  Provide their needs, including enough income matching with their value.  Give them the assurance of substantial care.

This prayer is for the nurse right now who fears becoming ill, for the one who has succumbed to the virus or other disease, and for the one has lost colleagues or fears losing colleagues to any pathogen.

Give to our nurses and allied healthcare workers a compensation of peace that transcends their understanding despite their fear, and tangible comfort in their grief.

Help our nurses and allied healthcare workers to know how thankful we are for their service, for their cultural awareness and empathy for their patients, for their professionalism and care, for their attention to detail, tact and problem solving, for their time management, for the communication and compassion, for their capacity to bear stress and placate conflict, and for the many times they’re disrespected in the course of their duty.

For those experiencing everything from physical fatigue to compassion fatigue to burnout, we uphold prayers that their prayers would be answered, that they would receive the rest, the peace, the space, the replenishment that they need.

We pray that out nurses and allied healthcare workers would be protected and kept safe from the physical and psychological hazards and threats present when serving patients, clients and others.

That hospitals, medical centres, and employers of all kinds, would seriously and diligently manage safety so risks to employee and public health and safety are lessened, even eliminated where possible.  Where employees are listened to, respected, and honoured by action that secures their health and safety.

Finally, we pray that in every way our nurses and allied healthcare workers would know beyond doubt the incredible value they represent to our societies.

That they would experience pride for their contributions of blood, sweat and tears.

That all others, all of us, in our societies would sincerely recognise their crucial role through cooperating with them, trusting them and respecting them.

AMEN.

Photo by Vladimir Fedotov on Unsplash