Nurses are today's living heroes: the frontliners who gallantly risk their lives to save people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is sad to see that there are places--even here in the United States--where nurses are not appreciated more. 

They have sworn an oath to protect and save lives, regardless of creed, nationality, race, or color. It is only just that the citizens of a thriving nation that prioritizes human rights take care of these brave individuals. 

Cases of nurses emigrating due to poor wages and treatment are not new. There are countries where the poor treatment of nurses drives many hard, caring workers out of the country to find greener pastures. This kind of emigration should not be happening in the United States. 

There are many ways to care for nurses and aspiring nurses in the United States. First, Washington needs to ensure that registered nurses are paid the average wage in the United States or more. The number one complaint of nurses in America is that they are overworked and underpaid. Nurses do some of the dirtiest, riskiest jobs in the country. They are invaluable in the medical field and should be compensated as such.

Hospitals must ensure that nurses have all the supplies and safety equipment needed during the tour of their duties. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other sanitation devices must be plentiful to prevent contracting diseases. It is the hospital and the state's duty to safeguard the safety of nurses while they provide critical medical care.

The state can incentivize the brave nurses who will answer the call. One of the incentives is higher pay and hazard pay for nurses in disease-prone areas in a health facility such as the emergency room and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU.) Hospitals and state legislatures could provide childcare to nurses on duty to ease the burden of working while balancing family life. Many nurses work long hours, late into the night and early into the morning. Schedulers can be more flexible with hours if more nurses are on staff. 

There are many ways the state of Washington can take action to make the state competitive for the nursing profession. To ensure a constant supply of hard-working nurses ready to safeguard our nation's health, we must take care of them. Nurses require better salaries, sufficient supplies, flexible schedules, and better work-life balance. In conclusion, the state should take care of professional nurses and aspiring ones to improve the healthcare system of the state and the country.