A Missouri nurse recently wrote about her experiences on the job during the pandemic, and her essay ended up winning a national competition.
Monette Chiarolanza had no idea that her words would garner so much attention and make her a celebrity.
“I used to compete in high school in speech,” Chiarolanza said.
During the pandemic’s last two years, her passion has been her coworkers.
She recently entered a national competition on a nursing app with an essay she wrote about her job and the teamwork of the staff.
“They contacted me and said, ‘We cried when we read your essay.’ They were like, ‘We were in tears.’”
“This is tough work,” University Health CEO Charlie Shields said. “When we go up on the floors and we talked to the nurses, and particularly the nurses in the ICU, dealing with some very challenging cases that frankly don’t always have good outcomes.”
An emotional essay about her job earned her a Zoom meeting with internationally known singer Michael Bublé.
“I thank you on behalf of every human being you’ve rescued and helped and every person who is going through tough times and who is gonna go through tough times,” Bublé said. “Your selflessness has changed the world. It really does and you inspire us to be better people.”
“Surprised that he took the time to come to congratulate us,” Chiarolanza said. “It picks you up. It kind of lifts you at a time when they can be hard.”
Monette has never seen Bublé in concert, but she says if he ever comes back to Kansas City, she will be front and center.
