Registered Nurse Susan French from KGH sings 'Your nurse'

Susan French has been working as a registered nurse at Kelowna General Hospital on and off for the past 17 years. During these current tough times, she decided to write and perform a song about being a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As a nurse, you come into the hospital, you put on your brave face and do what you need to do. At the same time you’re scared - you’re worried that you’re going to get sick and that you’re going to take it home to you family,” French said.

She tried to capture these feeling in the song, along with the perspective of her patients. 

“When you come into the hospital you’re already nervous and then as a patient during a pandemic that’s ten-fold and so I think patients see these people caring for them, they’ve got their faces covered, a mask, a shield and it adds to the anxiety.”

French also took time to thank Dr. Bonnie Henry for her leadership through the crisis, and how proud she was that many of the leaders around the globe are women. 

French is a mother of two young girls and admits that despite the brave face she puts on, she is still worried that she will get sick and bring home the virus. 

“We want to be able to help people and make them feel better in their time of need. It’s been very rewarding - as well as nerve-racking," French said.

For her, songwriting is very therapeutic. French has been writing music and playing the piano and guitar since she was 11 years old, but this is her first YouTube video she’s ever posted.

“It’s actually because of some of my amazing colleagues, they’ve been so brave and so strong and one of them knowing that I write music and play guitar actually encouraged me to put out a YouTube video so I did," French explained. 

And so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“It’s been such an honour to have my friends, colleagues, family and people I don’t even know tell me they’ve connected to my music and to my song … I’ve had a nurse from other provinces tell me that my song brought them to tears,” explains French. 

“I hope that this song makes people feel appreciated – those that are on the frontlines, be it nurses, doctors, grocery store clerks, anyone out there working, and to know that we are all in this together,” says French.