I was getting hours as a nursing associate at the hospital . Then everything just stopped . I haven ’ t worked since March . My capstone was canceled . I have no idea about the job offer any more . Graduation was postponed until September . Our pinning isn ’ t until August . What was supposed to be an exciting culmination of ceremony and career advancement into nursing never happened . It has left me deflated . Studying for the NCLEX has been that more difficult as I am finding it hard to concentrate . On top of all that , I was to become my son ’ s teacher for the remainder of the school year while my husband worked from home . I know many other people have it much harder , people have died , lost jobs , have no income . I know this feeling will pass , that I am almost a nurse and need to press on , but I would be doing a disservice if I didn ’ t say this has all been terribly upsetting .
My classes ( Psych and Med-Surg I ) went from in-class to online : we did blackboard collaborate
for lectures in the latter and PowerPoint with a voice over for the former . Clinical were cancelled and moved to online simulation clinical . Exams were taken online , from our homes and for Med-Surg the number of questions were reduced , and case studies were added to finish out the grade .
Due to the pandemic and nurses being furloughed , I have been unable to attain a position in a clinic or hospital . Like so many others , we are waiting until decisions are made . Unfortunately , there are many of us willing to work and help out and they continue to state there is a need for nurses . I have found this to be false as the actual numbers in most hospitals are not what they expected , and all other care has been suspended . Hopefully the furloughed nurses and newly graduated nurses can return to work soon .
Due to COVID-19 , I was temporarily laid off from work in the middle of March . This was also halfway through my second semester , and everything , including clinical , switched to online learning . Us students saw how our school ’ s faculty were able to shift their curricula to an online format in the span of only spring break . As an active member of the nursing association at our school , we are finding nontraditional ways to collaborate , fundraise , and participate in community service . At this point in June I have not worked in 3 months , and it has been a nice respite . I was able to focus wholeheartedly on clinical and studying . I ’ m also re-evaluating how I manage my time . I realize that I was setting high standards on myself with expectations for excelling in both work and school . I have shifted my focus to getting more consistent sleep , connecting with friends and family , and taking time to relax . Extracting myself away from a fast-paced world has helped me to mitigate my longstanding anxiety . These skills of taking care of myself and being resourceful will enhance my future career as a nurse . n
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