Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen on why being a nurse is like being a mum, 'thankless but honourable'

Dubai: "Being a nurse is like being a mum. It’s a thankless job,” said Sushmita Sen to Gulf News on the sidelines of the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Awards in Dubai on May 26.

“Through that, you keep on doing what you do — for the love of what you do, or the people, or just the honourable position you are in and the job you’ve taken up.”

It was a line that stayed with me long after she said it — striking a chord with nearly every person in the room.

Let it also be known that when the statuesque and articulate former Miss Universe and actress walked into the Atlantis ballroom, the Aarya star didn’t just make an entrance — she brought a calm confidence that quietly commanded attention. Did we also tell you she's a squishy, warm hugger?

And, In the middle of the formalities and flashing cameras, a small, telling moment stood out. Sen was spotted casually touching up her own makeup — and then, without hesitation or fanfare, leaning over to help nursing award winner Naomi Oyoe Ohene Oti fix hers. It wasn’t staged. It wasn’t for the cameras. It was instinctive, generous, and deeply human — the kind of moment that encapsulates why her presence feels personal, not performative.

Crowned Miss Universe in 1994 — the first Indian to do so — Sen has long moved beyond pageant titles. Today, she’s a single mother, actor, entrepreneur, and someone unafraid to speak her mind.

During our one-on-one chat, she was candid about her own health challenges and her growing respect for those working on the front lines of care.

“Healthcare is something that, as you know, in my recent outings, I've had a lot of,” she said with a wry smile.

Sen publicly revealed in March 2023 that she had suffered a heart attack and underwent angioplasty to insert a stent. She shared the news on social media, saying her main artery had been 95 per cent blocked and credited her medical team for acting swiftly. Since then, she has become a vocal advocate for heart health awareness — especially among women — urging regular checkups and greater self-awareness.

But even during our conversation, she kept the focus firmly on the real stars of the evening: the nurses.

“I would love to take credit for that, because it’s an honour to be here and do this,” she said.

“But the credit purely lies with Aster, the entire team. Just coming up with this initiative of the Guardians Global Nursing Awards in itself is commendable.”

She was visibly moved by the sheer scale of the effort.

“I was getting these numbers from them that were just staggering — like 25,000 applied the first time around, and this year, 105,000 nurses,” she said. “That’s amazing, which is shortlisted down to the top 10 that we saw today. And of course, Naomi won. I am just privileged and honoured that my position allows for people to give me this opportunity.”

She spoke passionately about the emotional and physical toll of caregiving — and how little it’s acknowledged.

“They go back home with potentially very many different kinds of infections that they’re surrounded with all day long,” she said. “I look at it from a medical standpoint, and I look at it from an emotional standpoint. Physically taxing and burning out, yes — but emotionally it’s a very, very exhaustive job.”

Sen didn’t just salute them; she issued a quiet but impactful reminder.

“My love to everyone out there. My only thing to say to all nurses is: you’re women. You have to take care of yourself. And I have no doubt that in terms of the professional requirements, we are multifaceted. There is a lot that we can take on. But I think just taking care of yourself in the process is also very, very important.”

And before our conversation wrapped, she left me with one final reflection — a simple, stirring line that summed up the soul of the profession:

“Please become nurses. This world requires it,” she said.

“I was being told statistics and datas, and I was hearing about how the nursing community has kind of shrunk given the medical requirement around the world. I think this should grow, because at the end of the day — as much as I love a good doctor — the doctor comes for a procedure and leaves. You heal with a nurse.”