Photo by Senior Designer Riley Latham.
Though COVID-19 cases in Tennessee are currently decreasing, recent School of Nursing graduates found themselves entering their first hospital jobs in the height of the pandemic positive case spikes.
“While the SON has not drastically changed studies to revolve around COVID-19, as new information becomes available, it is a constant point of discussion,” said Dr. Charlotte Webb, associate dean and assistant professor of the nursing department.
In the early stages of the pandemic, the SON had to pause clinical experiences due to the request of surrounding hospitals.
“At that time, healthcare workers needed to put all of their focus on the increasing patient load and consider how they would care for the high volume of COVID patients,” said Webb.
Webb said the student nurses returned to the clinical area quickly and could complete all of their required clinical hours for Spring and Summer 2020.
“Caring for any patient during this time required the wearing of personal protective equipment,” said Webb. “All Lee School of Nursing students were provided with N95 masks and face shields to wear to clinicals for personal protection. Dr. Michael Sturgeon, a research coach who works in Squires Library, used the 3D printer to print students face shields which were then assembled at the School of Nursing and distributed to all students in clinicals.”
Currently, nursing students can observe but not directly interact with COVID-19 patients during clinicals.
“Student nurses are not assigned to take care of active COVID patients,” said Webb. “On a few occasions, this has required relocating students to new learning units when the original care unit would be converted to a COVID-only patient care area.”
Senior nursing major Kristen O’Dell said this was common in the hospitals she has worked in.
“COVID patients are everywhere. They’re flowing in the ICU in the ER and rehab hospitals. So it’s been kind of hard for us not to be able to treat them. It means we’re pretty much missing out on half the patients,” said O’Dell. “Half of the floor was not COVID, and half was COVID. So, Lee student nurses had some more free time, and I saw the nurses on the COVID side, absolutely running around crazy, right? They needed more sets of hands, which the students had, but we cannot provide that for them.”
Lee University SON graduate and registered nurse Sarah Westcott was unaware her first day in a hospital would entail working on a COVID-19 floor.
“We were told we were not allowed to care for COVID-19 patients at all during clinicals. If the nurse we were assigned to had a COVID patient, we were just supposed to tell them, ‘according to my school and my professors, we are not allowed to step into the room and help you.’ Going from that to being hired directly onto a COVID floor – it was definitely a shock to my system,” said Westcott.
Westcott works at a hospital in Florida, a hot spot area for COVID-19, and she felt overwhelmed after working on a record-breaking number of cases.
“There’s a floor on our hospital. They call it the field hospital,” said Wescott. “There wasn’t even a ceiling or walls – the floors weren’t finished; it was just concrete. My first day was on that floor. It was absolutely jarring.”
Lee University nursing graduate and registered nurse Alexis Carmen, who started working in a COVID-19 ICU unit, has seen firsthand the effects of COVID-19 and experienced “heart-wrenching circumstances” while caring for people who do not realize the severity of COVID-19.
“I’ve had so many patients who, before we intubate them, will tell me ‘I wish I would have listened,’ ‘I wish I wouldn’t have gone to that birthday party’ or ‘I wish I would have just got vaccinated.’ They tell me, ‘I’m scared to die,’” said Carmen, “I can preach to them all day, but until somebody they love dies, or until they’re in that situation, they’re not going to fully listen to me. It’s heartbreaking.”
Nursing professors have encouraged students to be vigilant about the virus while maintaining their mental health and helping one another.
“Our professors definitely have encouraged us not to numb [COVID-19] out,” said O’Dell. “Professors have given us so much advice and tips about compassion fatigue, which a lot of nurses are experiencing right now.”
Webb says emphasizing self-care and mental health is an important aspect of teaching future nurses.
“Many nurses are tired, discouraged and reconsidering their chosen profession. Lee student nurses seek to be an encouragement when they attend clinicals during this time,” said Webb. “The SON faculty have always sought to build resilience and coping skills in students who are choosing a profession that will require it. However, during the pandemic, focus on resilience has been coupled with an increased emphasis on self-care. Students must learn self-care while in school and carry on with that concept once they enter the profession.”
