Pandemic Experience

ponderingDNP · Jan 12

This may sound sarcastic, but I assure you there is no sarcasm intended. I have gone to work everyday of my extensive acute care nursing career treating people as if I was in the middle of some sort of pandemic....had no choice. As a float/travel/agency nurse, I was always given the isolation patients as part of the 'let's dump on the agency nurse' practice.

So, when the pandemic hit, it was literally just another day at work for me. However, it was extremely frustrating to see so many people taking this critical situation so lightly even though they were losing close friends and family members by the numbers. The idiots participating in the "COVID parties" were mind-blowing. I was just in awe at the stupidity. And yes, it angered me to no end because I know of some people from back home who died from sheer stupidity (my BEST friend included). That's all I'll say about this.

CrunchRN, ADN, RN · Jan 12

Agree. Although the lockdown went too long in my personal opinion, the Covid party stuff was beyond stupid.

MoLo · Jan 14

Pondering,

I am so sorry for your loss. I asked to explore what positives came out of this for people, as crises often generate creativity and efficiency. But not glossing over the losses, especially when people could not be together as they passed. It was frightening and horrifying, and my thoughts are with you and your friend.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Jan 15

I think there were some positives that came out as a society. For example, my church now has services through different streaming options and people that were once at home and unable to be involved in any way can now be back in touch with our church community. I have a friend whose family started Sunday night zoom calls and they've continued even after the pandemic so people can stay in closer touch. I think we came to value connections more when we couldn't have the same ones we had.

On the healthcare side specifically, I can't think of many positives, but in my unit it definitely increased our sense of teamwork in that first year. We were on the front edge of something that no one really was an expert with, so we were all learning together. The doctors/RTs/RNs all worked in a more collaborative way than I had experienced previously. But the fact that almost everyone died despite our efforts was disheartening.

We did end up with some crazy travelers throughout the pandemic, so there are still some funny stories kicking around the unit, which are good for a laugh every now and then.