The Long Shadow is an ongoing documentary project that tells the stories of nurses working on the front lines during the Covid-19 pandemic. Outside the medical world we can get a false sense of normalcy with growing vaccination rates and lowering case numbers, when the reality is that nurses will be managing this disease for many years ahead. No nurse has been trained on how to emotionally manage the ongoing trauma of a pandemic, nor do they have the support needed to care for themselves in order to keep showing up. And most nurses felt burned out and underpaid long before Covid-19 was on the horizon. 

Several recurring themes have come up during the interviews - primarily the lack of support nurses have felt by their hospitals. Many have referred to themselves as the "sacrificial lambs" of the medical world, and several hospitals fired nursing staff making over a certain salary, leaving new nurses without the mentorship support needed to do their jobs. Many have left to pursue travel nursing or have left the field altogether. When asked how they feel the media has portrayed their work in the last year, most every nurse has expressed their distaste toward the “heroic” perception of their job, highlighting the unrealistic expectations it puts on them. Several nurses also referenced how much the volatile politics of the pandemic have made their jobs more difficult - fighting an individualist current and profit-focused hospitals that often don't provide the support they need. When asked what support would feel like, most all have said, "we just want our work and humanity to be seen and understood."

This project to date has consisted of 20+ in-depth interviews with nurses of all levels and locations about their experiences working on the front lines of the pandemic. I have recently begun the photography piece - primarily visiting nurses during their off hours in the home setting, showing who they are outside of their careers. My goal is to help nurses feel seen and heard and for their stories to be recorded. This project is for the nurses and I hope at minimum it gives them a release and an opportunity to share their stories.