THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The coronavirus pandemic has brought more people to appreciate the services of a nurse. So omnipresent that one wonders how nurses balance work with family. The situation is the same around the world, and who would know it better than Keralites, serving as they are in different countries.
To beat the stress, Malayali nurses have launched an e-magazine -- AIMNA (An International Malayalee Nurses Assembly). It serves to engage in creative activities and to reach out to a wider audience. The content is typical of a general magazine where the contributors share stories, poems and paintings, and expertise in cookery. The magazine is the result of contributions from Malayali nurses across the world, says Sinu John Kattanam, coordinating editor of AIMNA.
He started a Facebook group, by the same name, a decade ago as an apolitical platform aimed at providing a creative space for nurses. The magazine is an extension of the Facebook fraternity group that which now has 1.13 lakh members. “Nurses are among those who face the maximum stress at work. The pandemic has seen increasing activity within the group, revealing plenty of writers and poets among us. That sowed the idea of a magazine,” says Sinu, who works as a nurse in Delhi.
When a nurse died by suicide after testing positive in the initial days of the pandemic in Delhi, the virtual group started motivation classes to reduce stress, Sinu points out. The platform also deals with career and health issues. “We share information on job security, salary, vacancies and prospects in different countries,” says Jisha Rajeev, one of the editors of the magazine.
The magazine begins with a message from Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan congratulating the frontline workers for the endeavour. It was launched by Muralee Thummarukudy, the disaster risk reduction chief with the United Nations Environment Programme, in the last week of January.