Alumna, BS in Nursing ’17; staff nurse in oncology department

What keeps you going at a time like this?

“’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

Alumna, DNP ’17; emergency department RN and advanced practice nurse in urgent care

“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.

“Never fear advocating for your patients’ health and your personal safety.”

Student, DNP executive model program;vice president of research development at a social service agency

“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.

Shame and stigma of being ill and guilt of being sick when so many people were in need

“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.

Words to Colleagues: It’s okay to be scared. Courage is feeling the fear and doing it anyway

“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.”