Nursing In a Pandemic

Healthcare workers have been in the news as of late, fighting the coronavirus and working long shifts to take care of their patients, all across the world.

We talked to a pair of recent nursing graduates from Broadus to hear of their experiences about graduating into the brave new world in which we now live.

Both Lydia Lynch and Taylor Price graduated this spring with their nursing degrees, with plans on becoming Registered Nurses. Normally, graduating nurses would soon take their NCLEX exam, which would certify them as RNs. This year, due to the virus the testing centers have closed, so both young ladies are currently waiting for their chance to test. Taylor tells us that as of now, the earliest she would be able to take the test is September.

In the meantime, both ladies are enjoying their freedom after years of study. Lydia and Taylor grew up on ranches in the local area, and are now able to spend more time outside – where they’ve also been put to work. Lydia tells us “In true Eastern Montana fashion, we celebrated my graduation day by branding our calves. My free time now is a little different than it was in Dickinson, but who doesn't love cleaning a chicken coop out every once in a while?”

With the COVID pandemic, graduation ceremonies, as well as “pinning ceremonies”, a symbolic welcoming of newly graduated nurses into the field, did not go as usual. Lydia’s graduation from Dickinson State University was held virtually, with a Powerpoint presentation featuring the graduate’s pictures and degrees. Taylor’s graduation from Miles Community College was also held virtually. Lydia did not have a pinning ceremony; Taylor tells us that her class plans on holding a private pinning ceremony at a later date to celebrate the class’s accomplishment.

Both ladies are working at Powder River Manor, where they have both worked in various roles since the mid twenty tens. Taylor started out as a nurse’s aide, eventually moving into the CNA role. Lydia began in laundry, before becoming certified as a CNA after her junior year of high school.

Taylor graduated from PRCDHS in 2015, and continued with nursing while taking college classes. She enrolled into the RN program at Miles Community College, and continued to work at the Manor while taking classes online, and completing clinicals on a regular basis before the rise of COVID.

Lydia graduated from PRCDHS in 2016, going on to the nursing program at DSU, later attaining her Licensed Practical Nurse (or LPN) certification, and working at the Powder River Manor as an LPN over Christmas Break this year. Lydia told us “I then planned to work at the Manor again during my Spring Break this year, but my Spring Break actually turned into me being in Broadus for the rest of the semester due to COVID, so I was able to work there for several more months than planned.”

Both nurses mentioned that they were able to complete the bulk of their clinical nursing rotations prior to the shutdown, and were able to finish the clinicals by watching videos and answering questions, or other virtual means.

Lydia and Taylor will continue to work at the Manor for the time being, at least until NCLEX testing becomes available. Lydia has accepted a nursing job in Rapid City, SD, at Monument Health in the oncology department, while Taylor plans to broaden her experience in the nursing field, with aspirations towards public health.

Taylor says she relishes her role at the Manor: “The staff has been great to work with, and I really enjoy working with our residents. Through the lockdown, we have upped our sanitizing procedures, and the entire staff wears masks. We’d like to encourage the families of residents to conduct Zoom meetings or stop outside and make social distancing calls through the window. Those things are a big boost to resident morale.”

Lydia echoed Taylor’s sentiment about her coworkers, noting that when she first began working there back in 2014, she noticed that nurses were always able to make the residents smile, even while handing them a cup of pills.

“I knew then that nurses must have something special about them, and I sure wanted to find out what that was,” she noted, and from then on her goal was to become a nurse.

We here at the Examiner salute Lydia, Taylor, and all nurses out there who are starting out in the nursing profession – you are among the best society has to offer. Your ability to bring smiles to the faces of people who are in pain is absolutely a special skill. Thank you.

 

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