Newark, New Brunswick, & Blackwood, NJ
“’When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you’ (Isaiah 43:2, ESV). This is what keeps me anchored, my patients think I have it all figured out but the truth is HE has it all figured out, so I just keep working through it all.”
March 2020
“I went back to the ER to help fight COVID as an RN. As a family nurse practitioner in emergency care, I was terrified by what I saw. Never in my life did I believe I would be rendering care during a pandemic while starting a gofundme drive to provide PPE to my coworkers after establishing connections with local paint distributors. COVID has been nothing short of a nightmare, but knowing I helped patients and my colleagues makes this journey a little easier. Stay safe out there!
“As a nurse, you are the eyes and ears for the patient. Never fear advocating for your patients’ health and for your personal safety. Please fight to ensure that you have proper PPE at all times. If we don’t care for ourselves, who will be left to care for our patients.
“On March 30th, just as face coverings and masks were being instituted, I came down with COVID-19. I was ill for 2 1/2 weeks but was able to recuperate and work from home the entire time. My husband also got sick but happily, my two teenage daughters did not.
“I felt the shame and stigma of being ill and the guilt of being sick at a time when so many people were in need. I returned to the front line with compassion, strict attention to protocol, and enthusiasm to help those in need and a commitment to reducing risk to not only viruses but racism in medicine and nursing.
“It is okay to be scared. If we were not scared, we would not be human. Courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway. Self-care is mandatory, find out what it means to you and stick to it. It is not a luxury. Bad things happen to people despite doing everything ‘right.’ Hang in there, keep in touch with your feelings and colleagues, see the difference you can make with one person, as well as the bigger picture. See the connections between COVID-19 and the systems that we all need to manage. Be a leader, use your power to improve health care in this country.”
“As nurse informaticist in my organization, I had to come up with new ways to provide efficient clinical IT training for new hires as the nation transitioned to largely working from home.
“Prior to COVID, we used WebEx mainly for conducting meetings with screen share options. However, with this tool, I was able to demo and provide hands-on training with the new hires and other clinicians from other hospitals who have been assigned to our hospital due to COVID-19 demand.
“New hires can learn 1:1 with me, while navigating the clinical applications real-time. Doing so allows for flexibility and safer environment when social distancing is required.
“With patient visitors being restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic, our organization had to think of ways to allow continued patient/family communication during the patient’s stay. Through the use of technology, we developed protocols on iPad use for patient/family communication.
“A multi-disciplinary approach is needed to successfully implement iPad use in lieu of in-person family visits. Social workers and other providers work closely with the nursing department to identify patients who meets the criteria for iPad use. The information technology department also plays a significant role in ordering and setting up the iPads, making sure the devices are ready for patient use. Apps such as FaceTime, Zoom, and Skype are the tools patients use to get in touch with their families.
“As a nurse informaticist, I believe there are still more ways that health care can maximize the use of technology during this unprecedented time. I am glad that I am in this role where I know that my technological and clinical expertise can help lead innovation in delivering quality care to our patients and their families.”
“After four years of nursing school I took on the challenge of working my first RN job in a high pace, trauma-driven emergency department close to my hometown in NJ. After some time I decided to chase my city dream and took a new position in one of New York City’s best hospitals. I happened to start this new job in February and my new emergency department quickly turned into a COVID war zone.
“When I first signed up to be an emergency nurse I knew I was signing up to be prepared for any disaster. I never imagined a pandemic to break out in the span of my career, let alone two years out of school. I especially did not expect to take a new job in the epicenter of the American outbreak. It’s been a tough uphill battle trying to stabilize the most unstable. It’s even worse to see families split apart as they say what might be their last goodbye to their loved ones as they drop them off desperately to our ED. And it’s the worst when desperate family members call for updates and there’s nothing good to be said.
“Nurses are leading this war. We’re at the forefront and spend the most time with the sickest patients. We’re the only interactions these people have in their most vulnerable time. I’m so humbled to have the opportunity to help make a difference when the world has had to come to a standstill.”
