Welcome, everyone, to our special edition of the spring Virginia Nursing Legacy.

We're bringing you this online edition because we felt it was really important for you to hear the upfront, personal stories of our students and graduates, and our faculty, and the experiences dealing on the frontlines with COVID-19. Everyone's life has been touched by this pandemic, and we are so proud of the resilience of our entire UVA community at the School of Nursing.

We will hear from nurses who have been facing death on a regular basis, and yet are able to remain resilient and have hope. We'll hear about those who made some minor personal sacrifices getting prepared to have very safe, protective personal equipment. We do take great pride in the preparation of our future workforce of nurses. And so, to hear from our alums, who are out there in the community settings, in acute care, in critical care, in a variety of agencies, both here and across the Commonwealth, and in what is, yet again, a ground zero in New York City, the stories of nurses who really have experienced a gamut of emotions, and we know how every nurse approaches their work saying, 'You know what? This is what I signed up for. I knew it was going to be tough."

But to know that our nurses have felt very prepared, and we know they're doing an extraordinary job getting through this, at the same time helping their families, friends, co-workers, and communicating with us, their faculty, and their colleagues to say, "We're doing OK." And that's really important. So we can all take pride in how well everyone is dealing with this pandemic, and making an amazing contribution as nurses.

"This is what nurses do. This is what we were made for. And this is really a time to shine."

Dean Pam Cipriano

They have stepped up. They have leaned in. And together, again, I think we share in this day to day event that is life-changing for everyone.

So I invite you to read on, to really reflect. You may shed a few tears. You may have a few palpitations in relating to what you're hearing from these individuals who are really strong and really resilient, and above all, to please share again in the pride that we feel of our graduates, and of all of our faculty, staff, and our students, because we are clearly doing our part.

This is what nurses do. This is what we were made for. And this is really a time to shine.

Warmly,

Pam Cipriano, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean and Sadie Heath Cabaniss Professor of Nursing
First vice-president, International Council of Nurses
@PamCirpianoRN