Nurse who was disciplined for wearing only lingerie beneath see-through PPE gown lands TV weather presenter gig
A nurse who grabbed headlines after being pictured wearing only lingerie under a see-through medical gown in a COVID-19 ward in Russia has now become a weather presenter on TV.
23-year-old Nadia Zhukova was initially disciplined by hospital bosses after she wore transparent PPE while caring for patients, the Daily Mail reported.
At the time, the nurse complained she was "too hot" in the hazmat gown, but officials accused her of "non-compliance with the requirements for medical clothing." Nadia's punishment was later withdrawn following a major backlash from the public.
That said, she has now been offered a role as a weather presenter in a local TV station in Tula, south of Moscow. Nadia, however, plans to continue working as a nurse while fitting the forecasts in between as her primary focus is to upgrade her training and become a doctor someday.
The medical professional revealed that she has also been offered a role as a model for a prominent Russian sportswear brand, but she is highly driven towards a career in medicine.
"It is a big thing for me. Thank you for letting me try," Nadia said of her new TV role on Vesti Tula. "My parents will watch, in the evening, after work."
Nadia received strong support from Tula regional governor Alexey Dyumin, a close ally of Putin and his former bodyguard, after being reprimanded by hospital authorities in May.
She recalled how "shocked" she was when her pals showed her she had gone viral across the globe. "I thought it would only be a talking point in my city, and that would be all. As it turned out - no," the nurse remarked.
Nadia also said she was "upset" due to some hurtful comments about her pictures.
"My colleagues supported me and I thank them very much for this," she said. "If it hadn't been for them, I don't know how I would have dealt with it all."
According to her, the support from Dyumin was "unexpectedly pleasant."
"After his words of support, I felt much calmer…. I have no boyfriend, but my friends supported me as much as they could," she said.
Nadia said she doesn't want to get distracted by the paparazzi and glamour that comes with TV or modeling.
"I want to continue my studies and become a doctor," she said. "I am not afraid to get infected."
Meanwhile, the 23-year-old continues to care for patients in her coronavirus ward.
"Despite all the losses, stress, constant lack of sleep - we will win, I'm sure," said Nadia. "The main thing is to keep a positive attitude."
Doctors backed Nadia over her decision to wear lingerie under her protective gown, saying there was a shortage of necessary gear.
"We just have nothing to wear," one medic told Komsomolskaya Pravda at the time. "There are not enough scrub suits, which according to the rules we should wear under our protective gowns….Believe me, we wouldn't go naked if we were provided with a complete set."
Russia is one of the hardest-hit nations in the novel coronavirus pandemic, having recorded over 795,000 confirmed cases and 12,892 deaths in Russia at the time of writing this article, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
