being in school and being online . Not to mention coming home from being at work all day where you look at every patient concerned that they may be infected . Did I touch my face , wash my hands , did I study for my test enough , did i do enough at work ? All these questions I am struggling with . The biggest worry came along when I was studying for my finals and I hear from work that my hours are being cut due to a low census of patients . Now I have to worry about money too . How am I going to help my family in this time of need if I can ’ t even help myself ? I struggled through my last few weeks of school , but I made it through with straight A ’ s . My job has me working again since we established different sites for anyone who is suspected to be sick and we are one of the clean sites that doesn ’ t see any more COVID-19 patients . I recently applied to a hospital because I feel like I am not doing enough to help out . I hope I get to work on the Pulmonary floor to help out the other nurses . I want to do more to help out in this pandemic . I made it through my first semester of nursing school , I am working hard every day at my office to take care of patients , but I want to be on the front line so badly to help more . Life is crazy during this pandemic , but I found that it has pushed me to be a better nursing student and a more caring person to everyone . Here is hoping I get the job at the hospital and I can do even more .
It still feels very surreal . This pandemic is like a terrible dream that we cannot wake from . As with everyone else , the uncertainty and anxiety have been palpable for me . At first , I didn ’ t know if I would graduate on time . Now , I don ’ t know how much the NCLEX process will be delayed . Although I am thrilled to be graduating with my BSN , I am sad that my cohort never got to celebrate our last day of class together . There will be no graduation or pinning ceremonies . And while I have been fortunate enough to obtain a job as a caregiver , I do not know how long it will be before I can get a job as a registered nurse . What has caused me much stress has been my living situation . I currently rent a room in a house with a family , of which two members are over 60 years old . I ’ ve had to take extra precautions because of this . And I fear that when I do start working on the frontlines that I will put them in harm ’ s way unless I move out very quickly . I also worry about my family back home . They live in a state where stay-at-home orders have already lifted , and my parents are both over 65 years old . They don ’ t really take the pandemic seriously there . I fear for them . My self-care has been interrupted because the gym was my haven for physical activity and stress-relief , especially the pool . Nature is where I recharge , but we ’ re not supposed to go outside except for essential purposes . Parks and hiking trails are all closed . My long-distance , overseas relationship ended because we do not know when we ’ ll ever see each other . I miss my friends . It ’ s been challenging , to say the least . But nursing school has kept me preoccupied enough not to dwell on what I cannot control . And nurses are meant to be flexible and adapt . So , I ’ ve been trying to catch up things that had previously fallen to the wayside such as meditation , yoga , bible reading plans , books , and of course movies / TV . This all feels apocalyptic , yet somehow perhaps this upheaval was needed so that we as individuals and society would finally face our demons and have a chance to fix our problems . I ’ m sure we ’ ll come out on the other side of this pandemic , but it remains to be how and when . I ’ m anxious to see how this changes everything . Sadly because of the COVID-19 I am not going to be able to work the position I had accepted for after passing my NCLEX . The hospital I was going to start working at has done away with all new grad nurse residency due to COVID-19 . Sadly , I am now having to relook at my future especially since I have bills and student loans to pay .
I am a single mother and caretaker of my mother . While I search the empty grocery stores for a few staple items , I decided to visit a local food distribution site in my city . I was overwhelmed and humbled by the volunteers and food provided to our family during this unfortunate time . I promised to give back . After a few weeks , my sorority sponsored a food distribution site I signed up and assisted in preparing over 500 bags with a surgical mask , flyers , and assisted in food giveaways . It was truly an honor and a wonderful way to pay it forward .
The class I needed to move forward in nursing school was canceled . My financial aid has been impacted from this and I will not be able to graduate on schedule .
Things were all lining up for me for the first time in a long time . My capstone assignment was on the unit I wanted to work , a verbal job offer had been made ,
38 NSNA IMPRINT n SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2020 n www . nsna . org