This former Disney Channel star says she’s joining the COVID-19 front lines as a Registered Nurse

A lot of people remember actress Jennifer Stone for her teenage role opposite Selena Gomez on Wizards of Waverly Place, but these days the 27-year-old actress is all grown up and has a new career as a registered nurse.

Stone still acts, but she’s also been busy pursuing a career in nursing and graduated at the end of last year. On #worldhealthday this week she posted a photo of her hospital IDs, and later added an Instagram Story showing off her scrubs and nursing shoes for a day of work at the hospital as an RN resident.

“I just hope to live up to all of the amazing healthcare providers on the front lines now as I get ready to join them,” she captioned the pic of her hospital IDs.

Stone’s post is going viral and reminding people that nurses are the real superstars in our society right now.

Nurses are the backbone of the fight against COVID-19, but we don’t have enough of them, the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out this week. WHO says globally, we’re about 6 million nurses short of how many we need to fight this pandemic, and notes that about 90% all nurses are female but few nurses (or women) are found in senior health leadership positions.

“Nurses are the backbone of the health system,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week. “Today, many nurses find themselves on the frontline in the battle against COVID-19. This report is a stark reminder of the unique role they play, and a wakeup call to ensure they get the support they need to keep the world healthy.”

Meanwhile nurses and the unions supporting them continue to raise the alarm about the lack of personal proactive equipment (PPE) and N95 masks for these critical workers. Nancy Nielsen, former president of the American Medical Association recently told CNBC that it’s important to understand that “health-care workers are at risk, and they need to be protected with protective gear to prevent infection,” and that “these women [in health-care professions] also have responsibility to take care of parents, who are older, and school-aged children…So their lives are enormously impacted by worrying about elderly relatives and by school closures.”

Nursing is a career that doesn’t get enough respect in our society, and while we need more nurses, it’s hard to get them right now. Stone’s December graduation made it easier for her work than the students who would be graduating next month and are stuck without necessary requirements.

Stone went viral this week because it’s not every day that you see a Disney Channel star switch to hospital scrubs, but we have to remember all the nurses that are working to save lives with little recognition or support. Kids are still watching Stone on old Wizards of Waverly Place reruns, but society needs to watch out for women she’ll be working beside, too.