Sydney Adelstein and Kate Best wearing personal protective equipment

Young Alumni Blog

What it’s Like to Be a Nurse Working on the Front Lines of COVID-19

In the Nursing Young Alumni Blog, recent Ohio State graduates chronicle their experiences as they venture into nursing for the first time. Kate Best and Sydney Adelstein blog frequently, and other guest bloggers are invited to submit as well. You can read their adventures and musings at u.osu.edu/nursingalumniblog.

 

self-portrait of Kate Best with mask lines on her face

 

Kate Best, RN (’15)

The last six months have held some of the most difficult moments in my nursing career… I’ve never felt closer to my coworkers. We see a side of COVID-19 that most don’t. We’re all going through the same experiences – the collective anguish and joy we’ve experienced brings us together. We cry together when we lose a patient and we smile together when our patients get better. We keep each other smiling throughout the day, through bad puns, quiet music at the nurses station, and perfecting the “air high five.” We’re in it together, and together we’ll overcome.

self-portrait of Sydeny Adelstein wearing mask and face shield

 

Sydney Adelstein, RN (’16)

COVID-19 has taken a clear emotional and mental toll on everyone regardless of whether they work in healthcare or not. It hasn’t been easy donning and doffing 30 times a day or floating to other units to accommodate staffing changes, but even though right now it is hard to process this “coronavirus nightmare,” I hope this time next year life will be somewhat more back to normal and light can be shed. I do know that my love and passion for nursing has not been diminished, and if anything, my calling could not have been truer than ever, and I hope my fellow coworkers around the world feel the same way.

In this issue