I remember last year when COVID first entered the United States and I also remember thinking that it will never affect me because it is across the country in Washington. Here we are a little over a year later and this country has been turned upside down because of this pandemic. I remember I was getting off the exit to go back home for spring break and I received the email from President Herbert stating that we would be online for the rest of the semester and in that moment my heart sunk. I had to cope with going home and leaving my college life unexpectedly. Living through this pandemic has been the hardest thing for not only me but for every person because of the adjustment that we all had to make to living. Even though stores, schools, and activities have opened and restarted we all are still not living the way we should. Now that I have lived a year through this pandemic it has taught me many things about myself and the importance of taking one day at a time

            When quarantine hit there were some positive and negative effects of being sheltered at home. Once I left home to go to college, I never thought that I would ever have to share a desk space again with my younger brother, but I learned how to compromise and have patience. It was nice to be home with my family, but there were times that I wished I could have just left and gone back to college. During quarantine I learned the art of having patience and compassion.  Patience was the one of most important concepts that I think I developed during quarantine because if I was not patient with my family then I do not think we would have all survived. The importance of patience in the nursing setting is also very essential because there will be times that are difficult that require me to take a step back and reassess the situation. As a nurse having patience is key to establish an open relationship with a patient because it will allow the patient to feel safe. It is important to have the mindset that the patient is experiencing a lot of stress and there are going to be times that they are difficult, but that does not mean as a nurse I should be quick and snappy with a patient. The concept of patience is also important because it will play a role in providing better care. The first step to providing the best care is to acknowledge that the patient is completely out of sorts and that they are entering unknown territory with their diagnosis. I feel this is important to keep in mind and should always be the first thought when entering a patient’s room because this will allow the nurse to be more understanding and have that patience. I know that there will be difficult times when it comes time to take care of a patient, but I also know that a patient is unwell, and I need to have patience and compassion to provide the best care possible.

            Aside from developing the concept of patience, I think that I really learned the true meaning of compassion during quarantine. During quarantine I recognized in myself that I was struggling to fully adjust to being home again with my family. However, I also recognized that my family members were struggling because what they had once known as normal got taken away. For example, my mom loved to go to her spin classes and workout with her friends, but once quarantine hit, she was no longer able to do that. I could see that really affected her because she was no longer able to do something that she really enjoyed. Once I recognized that, my mom and I started to workout in our basement together or go on walks and this really seemed to make her happy. At first, I just had sympathy for myself because my college life was on pause, but then I realized that it was not just me that got something taken away. After that I really started to understand and have compassion for my family because their normalcy got taken away and they had to adjust to me coming home. The importance of compassion is also very essential not just in daily life, but specifically in nursing. I think compassion in the nursing setting is about providing mental and emotional care for a patient. As a nurse we can understand everything about the patient’s physical diagnosis, but we do not fully understand the mental and emotional toll it takes on them. The role of a nurse is to try and understand the mental and emotional aspect and alleviate any distress that the patient might feel and that is what compassion is about. Compassion is about relieving the distress of the patient and just empathize with them about what they are experiencing. A nurse should provide interventions to increase a patient’s overall wellbeing but should also understand that the patient does not fully feel like themselves, which will happen more times than not. That is whereas a nurse we should strive to perform the best care possible to try and provide some type of compassion and normalcy for the patient.

            I believe that the impact of this pandemic will change how we care for patients and our approach we take towards viruses like these in the future. Even within this year there have been many changes already in the healthcare system that probably would have never happened without this pandemic. One of the biggest discussions during this pandemic was the usage of masks and if they are beneficial. At the beginning of this pandemic people were not fully convinced that masks were effective and still went out in public without a mask. As a nursing student going into the hospital and having to wear a mask, helped in more ways than not. I know that if I went into a patient’s room and they were coughing, I felt a lot better that I was wearing a mask because it was providing that protection for me. Another reason masks are effective, is if the patient is on neutropenic precautions and cannot be exposed to germs then wearing a mask is protecting them. There was a lot of debate on whether masks are effective, but I really believe that they have provided an extra layer of protection for people. A more recent discussion that is a global discussion is the effectiveness of the vaccine. I am personally vaccinated, but I did it to protect the patients that I have come in contact with. There has been a lot of debate about the risks versus the benefits of the vaccine, but in the end the vaccine just adds another layer of protection. If I must go through a few flu-like symptoms to protect my patient that is completely immunocompromised then I will do it because it is all about protecting the people who do not have the immune systems to fight off COVID. The one thing that bothers me about people who have gotten the vaccine is that they think that they are invincible now. However, I do not believe that to be true because the vaccine is still new and there is not enough research on it yet. I think these two topics have been the focus of debate during this pandemic and as a nursing student I feel that these things will shape how we care for patients. The pandemic in a whole has made me realize that I need to be cautious on what I do and who I see because the profession I am going into requires me to see immunocompromised people every single day. One thing that I hope for is that more people become educated on the pandemic and the vaccine because I still feel that there are some people that are oblivious to the effects that COVID can have. I hope that people keep getting educated to understand the magnitude of COVID and become more aware because this is something that is not going way for a while.

            Overall, I think that our country has adjusted well to the effects of the pandemic. I remember my dad saying to me over winter break that he has not gotten a cold this year and he believed that it was because more people were washing their hands and wearing masks. I think that effects of the pandemic have made people realize the importance of practicing good hygiene. In a community setting people will be more aware of illness and the precautions to take not only during this pandemic, but future illnesses that may arise. In the future I see nurses being more active in community health. I think the role of a nurse in the community will be more of an educator about viruses or illnesses that may be present. I think that it would be a good idea for nurses to open clinics that can provide masks, sanitizer, and any other essentials to prevent viruses. I cannot really say if there will be any other community health issues that may be present because of this pandemic. However, I think this pandemic has taught all of us a lot about hygiene and protecting each other. I think that this pandemic brought us the worst and the best of each other, and we just need to remember that we are all struggling, but we are going to get through it. COVID has taught all of us patience, compassion, and the importance of hygiene and it will all remain with us for the rest of our time.