A Bermudian nurse working on the Covid frontline in Washington DC has been recognised as being one of the top 50 nurses in the US capital.

The Washingtonian magazine highlighted Davon Adams, 31, among 50 nurses in the area as part of an Excellence in Nursing feature intended to highlight those fighting the pandemic.

The honoured nurses were nominated by local physicians, hospitals, colleagues and patients.

Mr Adams told The Royal Gazette: “Being nominated means a lot especially being nominated by my peers goes to show that the care I provide to patients does not go unnoticed.”

He added that he was surprised to be contacted by the magazine as he had no idea that he had been nominated and was honoured be to be selected for the feature.

“There have been times when I have left the hospital completely drained and exhausted,” he said.

“I am not in this profession for recognition, but knowing I provided the best care to my patients and that others can see that makes me feel like it is all worth it.”

Mr Adams, who also teaches nursing at George Washington University, told the Washingtonian that he was apprehensive about treating his first Covid-19 patient last March because so little was known about the virus.

But he added: “Once I put on my PPE and stood at the door of that isolation room, that patient’s health was the only thing I was thinking about.”

The Washingtonian said that early in the pandemic, while working to treat a rapidly declining patient, Mr Adams organised a FaceTime call with the patient’s families so they could say goodbye.

He then stayed at the patient’s side, holding his hand as he died.

Mr Adams said: “In the past year, I’ve seen countless patients die. Sometimes we saw two or three die in a day.

“Working in the ICU, we’re used to seeing patients die, but three in a day – that’s abnormal.

“I always say nursing is a calling. You don’t get into nursing if it’s not something you want to do.”

He added that his mother – who was a registered nurse in Bermuda – had called him almost every day to make sure he was alright.

After graduating from nursing school in the United States, Mr Adams returned to the island in 2014, specialising in medical/surgical nursing.

But he subsequently went back to the US to further his education and gain more experience.

He told The Royal Gazette late last year that he and his colleagues had leant on one other to manage the pressures of the pandemic.

Mr Adams said: “It’s hard to talk about Covid and the things we see on a daily basis to people with little or no medical knowledge because it doesn’t make sense to them.

“We talk to each other about rough experiences we’ve recently had, and it’s comforting in the fact they can empathise.

“Although there is nothing funny about Covid we try and make each other laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood on an already depressing unit.”