Reflection on COVID19 As a (relatively) New Nurse

 At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty regarding COVID19. We didn't know how it is transmitted, how long is the incubation period, where it is coming from, and how to protect ourselves from getting transmitted. There was also a lot of distrust in the WHO and CDC due to constant changes in guidelines that confused the healthcare workers and created panic among the public. while the hospital struggles with the increased hospitalization of patients with COVID19, the clinic was swarmed with phone calls from anxious patients who demanded to be evaluated by the doctors regarding their COVID-like symptoms. I was on the other side of the phone, trying to answer questions that I did not have a clue about. It was incredibly distressing. Though I had a year of nursing under my belt at the time, the imposter syndrome was still quite real, especially during this time. The policy and guidelines continue to change daily, everyone struggles to keep up with new information. 

They say that the first year of nursing is a steep learning curve, but I certainly did not expect or prepare to respond to a pandemic. However, we march close to 2 years into this pandemic and I have learned a ton from these past 2 years as a nurse.

The first thing I learn is to trust science, even when there are uncertainties. Like many people, when the COVID19 vaccine is about to make available to the healthcare workers, I was hesitant. I didn't know the safety, validity, and efficacy of the vaccine. Mostly I wasn't sure how vaccines can be developed so quickly and was concern that it is not being studied thoroughly. Then I did my own research, listened to the scholars, and attended Q&A about the vaccines. By the time the vaccine was made available to me, I was excited to receive the vaccine. I am finally more hopeful that I can have better sleep, and closer to the days I can visit my parents. 

The thing is, I've always trusted science, but I realized I have taken it for granted. I forgot that for a hypothesis to be true, we need data, information, experiments, and repetition to present evidence to support our hypothesis. This pandemic was an unfortunate lived experiment. But after a year, we got it down pretty well. We know that wearing masks help decrease transmission regardless if you are symptomatic or not - asymptomatic individuals can transmit illness to others, we know that COVID19 is spread through droplet (sometimes airborne in an aerosolizing procedure), we know that vulnerable population (e.g. immunosuppressed, elderly) are at high risk of severe illness/death but young and healthy adults are not exempt from it either, and we also know that the COVID19 vaccine WORKS. 

Secondly, in my opinion, in regards to public health, it should not be politicized. I'm sure people will be arguing with me about this point. In the past years, I was horrified by medical decisions made among the public driven by politics. I love medicine, specifically what I can do with medicine - helping people, regardless of their background, I serve them in their best interest. However, it has been incredibly distressing to see people making health decisions based on their political parties and disheartening to see people's distrust in medicine, healthcare workers - some rooted in systemic racism. However, there is a difference in being an advocator for health policies and take a stance on promoting health equity. That will be another post. 

As we moved past the 1.5-year mark of this pandemic, I reflect on the horrid emergency response, the devastating lost, the selfless sacrifices, and the innovation of science. I am overwhelmingly grateful of my health, my job, my friends and families, and the ever so conflicting being call human. 

References: 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/clinical-guidance-management-patients.html