The 2020-2021 academic year has been unlike any other. But despite the unusual circumstances like mask wearing, social distancing and hybrid learning, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted students’ experiences in ways they never anticipated. We will be sharing their personal stories over the next several weeks.
***
“Every day, working was hard,” said senior nursing major 梅根·麦金尼. “Being in the medical field is hard work but working during a pandemic is extremely hard. I do not know that anything could have prepared us for this pandemic and all that it entails.”
自2019年5月以来，科罗拉多州的米德(Mead). native has worked as a patient care technician (PCT) in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Bryan Medical Center East Campus. But McKinney’s experience changed dramatically early last spring when her unit was converted to a COVID-19 unit where she would care for patients with a new set of challenges.
“We became a COVID unit when the pandemic first started so that we could care for a variety of COVID positive patients,”她说。. “Many were very sick and required to be in the intensive care unit for their level of care. We had to adapt and change based on how many patients needed ICU care.”
This need for adaptability suited McKinney’s desire for a fast-paced work environment. 她的一天从早上6:45开始.m. when she received reports on all patients. She helped patients with their meals, baths, admissions, discharges and transfers.
The routine gave her structure but it also came with hardship.
“Patients were unable to see their family members, but we were able to help facilitate phone calls or Facetime,她解释道. “When patients were at the end of their 生活, it was important we allow the family members to talk to and see their loved one. It was hard, there was no way around it.”
Because of the lengthy 隔离 requirements, McKinney and her unit often cared for patients for weeks. Getting to know these patients, she said, made it difficult to see them sick or pass away.
当你走进病人的房间时, we had to wear a PAPR (powered air purifier respirator) and a gown. This was hard because it was harder for patients to recognize the staff and remember us,麦金尼说.
No college course could have prepared McKinney for what she experienced this past year and the toll that has come with it. 在社区封锁期间, 隔离, 以及整个部队的情绪疲劳, 她说平衡学校, 生活, 工作压力让我很难受. But it has also taught her a valuable lesson.
“Working in healthcare really is a team effort,”她说。. “没有人能单独做到这一点. We were all there to support one another and help each other out every day. Even though every day was hard and very trying, I learned that we can come together as a community and we will get through this one way or another.”
In addition to her experience in the COVID-19 unit, McKinney has clinical experience in the burn unit at CHI 健康 St. 伊丽莎白, the vent assisted unit at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital, 长期护理设施, 林肯区域中心, 分娩和其他. Following her graduation from Nebraska Wesleyan in May, McKinney will work as a registered nurse on the medical/surgical intensive care unit at Bryan Medical Center East Campus.
###
—Story by Danielle Anderson, public relations student writer