How new nurses are adjusting to the pandemic

             By Jennifer Perrone

             For new nurses, learning the way a hospital runs is difficult. COVID-19 is changing the hospital operations, making that adjustment even harder. 

 Specifically, new nurses have been affected in different ways. 

COVID-19 is the largest health pandemic the world has seen this century and it has rapidly spread globally. There have been 5.4 million cases counted in 180 countries. 

Jalyn Byrd, who started as a nurse at Emory Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019 said that at the beginning of the pandemic the biggest change was where she was placed.  

“It was like every time I would go to work, I would be in the Covid unit,” Byrd said.  

Then the protocol in hospitals quickly began to change. Whether it was the requirement of masks everywhere or what wings were restricted, the staff was being given new rules regularly. 

 “It was like last week you told us this, and now this week you’re telling us the complete opposite,” Byrd said.  

After the virus hit, double shifts became triple shifts and staff members were expected to work extra shifts because of those who may have contracted the virus. 

Byrd said to get tested initially you had to have had severe symptoms.  

“Even those who did test positive, the hospital still wanted them to come back to work as soon as they can,” Byrd said.  

Supporting patients is a crucial role that nurses play. There have been several reports that detail the additional negative effects the virus has had on healthcare professionals, especially nurses. Studies conducted during the epidemics caused by SARS in 2003, influenza A in 2013, and even Ebola in 2018 have all documented negative psychological effects for nurses. Feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. 

Hospitals are not allowing patient visitors unless there is a dying family member. Even then there is only one to three people allowed in, often leaving nurses to provide additional emotional support to patients. 

Byrd said patients are more depressed and for people without phones she is the person in the middle to give communication. 

Nurses who are new to a hospital usually have a week of orientation where they attend classes and walk around the hospital. That has all changed. 

Byrd recently started at Grady hospital in Atlanta, Georgia this past August and she said most of the introductions and orientation training was mostly over Zoom.  

“When you start a job, you want to shake your manager's hand and hug your co-workers but with the pandemic the training was completely different,” Byrd said.  

Niquia McWaters, a physician's assistant at Polk County School Board Health Clinic in Lakeland, Florida, said that protocol in the hospitals was altered in various ways.  

“There have been changes that affect almost every aspect of clinic protocol. We screen patients at the door for illness related questions and monitor temperature. If you have symptoms of illness or fever, we can not see you in the clinic,” McWaters said. 

McWaters said that the adaptation to change was not much different for new staff, but having experience made her more comfortable.  

“I think mindset and prior experiences drive the compliance,” McWaters said.  

Not only have new nurses been affected but nursing students who are trying to get hands-on opportunities are being held back.  

Karen Demaris, a senior biology major at Stonehill College, plans to be a nurse. Most nursing students go to graduate school and then work a couple days in a hospital while taking classes.  

“I am nervous going into my rotations and having to go into a hospital during a pandemic,” Demaris said. 

Reports on nursing students done during the pandemic found some feel their skill level are undeveloped and they felt overwhelmed going into the field. Stress levels were higher because clinical practices were shut down.  

It was determined in the report that 68.1% of first year nursing students were worried about being infected at work.  

Demaris said that the application process to graduate school has changed because some schools aren't taking test scores for applicants because the tests were not given due to the pandemic.