Your Low-Stress Guide to Leveling-Up Your Bedtime Routine
Are You Burnt Out or Depressed?
During the pandemic,demand for intensive care unit (ICU) travel nurses nationwide jumped 281 percent.
I pretty much always knew I wanted to be a nurse somedaythat or a veterinarian.
I studied nursing in college and graduated in May 2019.
I specifically wanted to work in the ICU because I felt that was where God was calling me.
In March 2020, a floor at the hospital where I worked was transformed into a COVID-19 unit.
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We were assigned more patients than was typical.
Between the hour-long drive and the stressful work environment, it was a lot to handle.
Then, the recruiter comes to you with potential assignments.
The assignments are meant to be short-term and the agency helps you find a place to live.
Some agencies provide a stipend for living expenses, including housing.
One day, I was researching nursing jobs and saw that North Mississippi Medical Center was hiring.
I contacted my recruiter to ask about the position.
My hope is to be a light for people in their darkest days.
Before the pandemic, weve never had a need for more ventilators or oxygen pressure.
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Being in a rural area, it isnt easy for us to get more of these life-saving supplies.
Somehow, weve alwaysjusthad enough.
Severe cases of COVID-19 affect the lungs and can cause organs to shut down.
When that happens, we administer medicine to help support the organs in need.
These patients need constant monitoring and care.
Despite our best efforts, not all COVID-19 patients survive.
They tell me to tell their family that they love them.
In these moments, Ill hold their hand and tell them that Im here.
My hope is to be a light for people in their darkest days.
I remember one patient who was nearing the end of her life.
It was clear and she knew it.
Together we pulled up some of her favorite Christian songs on YouTube and sang them together.
Being a COVID-19 ICU nurse,its important to look after your own mental health.
This is a hard job.
What helps me most is prayer.
I pray on my drive to work for the ability to stay strong for the patients and their families.
I attempt to do some physical activity or spend time with my fiance daydreaming about our wedding.
There have been a few times when Ive just started crying out of nowhere.
But it comes out like that sometimes.
Despite this sadness, the love I have for my job overpowers it.
The need for COVID-19 ICU nurses is still great, including at NMMC.
Im about to sign it again.
As a travel nurse, Im not sure what the future holds for me after COVID-19.
But right now the pandemic isnt over yet, so Im focused on where I am.
*As told to Emily Laurence
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