One UNCG alumna has become the image for all nurses during this wave of coronavirus.
Perhaps you’ve seen the meme on Reddit or Twitter? A nurse sporting sunglasses, mask, walkie-talkie, and an arm sleeve of animal tattoos, making her way with confidence as though in anepic movie battle scene.
It’s UNCG’s own Grace Cindric, 2016 graduate of the UNCG School of Nursing and one of many UNCG alumni health care professionals on the front lines during this pandemic.
The original photo – seen on this print issue’s cover – was taken March 30 by Robert Willet for The News & Observer. It depicts Grace near the UNC Medical Center’s emergency department entrance, screening patients for COVID-19.
“It’s a scary time for everybody,” she noted. She’s glad the Photoshopped image provides comfort and hope.
“I’ve seen comments on social media such as, ‘This is the nurse on the front lines taking care of us. I feel safe now.’ We want people to feel that when they have to come to the emergency department, they are in good hands.”
Dr. Lori Hubbard, her former professor, told one reporter, “There’s at least a little bit of that meme in every nurse and we need to be reminded of it,”
As a student, Grace earned the nickname “Ninja Nurse,” when she injured herself doing martial arts. Her Facebook page shows her lifting her own weight, climbing cliffs, and snorkeling. This pandemic is one more challenge. And she is ready.
“UNCG has a fantastic nursing program. A lot of what I learned in the nursing program I am using now.”
See more in-depth article on Grace Cindric.
See US News & World Report article.
See story on several nursing stories in NY City during pandemic’s first month.
Story by Matthew Bryant