The Pandemic Started 18 Months After I Qualified As A Nurse

"it’s been really nice to see that we care for each other"

We asked a Newly Qualified Nurse to describe how Covid 19 has affected his job. This is what he said.

Topics Covered In This Article

Covid Meant We Were Able To Get Closer To Patients

Last Week A Grieving Family Thanked Me For Showing Their Father Love

The Pressures Of Covid Has Made Me A Better Nurse

I Think All Nurses Care For One Another More Now

Where I See My Future In Nursing

Covid Meant We Were Able To Get Closer To Patients

Yes, it is hard to overlook how stressful and emotionally draining Covid has been at times.

Getting close to patients became inevitable because visitors were not permitted.

Sometimes, when performing last offices, it felt different to pre-Covid nursing experiences.

These were people you had taken the time to get to know.

I wrote down the many reflections I had during the past year. Some of them I don’t re-read.

I think this will help me understand and explain the pandemic in years to come.

Last Week A Grieving Family Thanked Me For Showing Their Father Love

During the pandemic as Nurses, we have been the wearer of many hats. We’re most things, from Nurse to cleaner.

But most of all we are the patient’s family and friend.

The restrictions on visiting patients have often been limited to those nearing death or zoom calls on tablets devices.

I have always enjoyed spending time with patients. But during the pandemic it felt different to anything I had experienced since qualifying in 2018.

During the pandemic many patients lost their lives.

I remember one family who lost a loved one thanked me for everything I had done.

I had sung with the patient, facilitated zoom calls and kept them updated with what was happening each day.

To me I was just doing my job, but the family assured me it gave them comfort knowing I was there.

I wanted to make sure that the patient was as happy as they could be.

If that meant me singing or going to get them a paper then that was what I had to do.

The Pressures Of Covid Has Made Me A Better Nurse

My experience of nursing during the Covid 19 pandemic didn’t mirror my expectations.

During our training, much was focused on medicines and diseases. We were not prepared or trained for a pandemic.

I expected to plod along through the early years picking up knowledge as I go with the intention of progressing to a higher band/specialist post after perhaps five years.

I had been qualified for around 15 months when the pandemic first arrived in the UK hospital.

I did not know what to expect or how I might cope.

I took on shift coordinator duties and was involved in infection control procedures to ensure safety for patients and staff.

The benefit of these pressures and being thrown in at the deep-end is that my experience and knowledge is now at a level where I feel comfortable to take the next step in my career.

I plan to progress towards a specialist nursing post now.

I Think All Nurses Care For One Another More Now

Covid was a new virus that we had little information on.

We were learning together as the days passed.

I did not think I would ever experience the devastation a pandemic could cause daily, on a regular NHS hospital ward.

I have really taken the time to ask all my colleagues how they are and just check they are OK.

This is something that I overlooked before.

It’s been really nice to see that we care for each other.

Where I See My Future In Nursing

My future nursing career has been on my mind a lot during the pandemic.

I have always maintained in my mind that I want to be around patients but am keen to advance in my career.

Looking forward I hope that within the next year to potentially move to a band 6 nursing role either as a deputy charge Nurse or specialist Nurse.

I have no particular field of nursing in mind at this current time.