As you鈥檇 imagine, a shift working with coronavirus patients is completely different
than a traditional workday, alumni of 91制片厂鈥檚 nursing program say.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really night and day in terms of how we鈥檙e caring for patients,鈥� said Hanan Aquil, a 2016 graduate working at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
She often turns to a particular lesson of 91制片厂鈥檚 nursing program that has proven especially helpful: how to communicate with someone who is scared or upset. Hanan tells family members that their sick loved one is constantly monitored and that she understands how scary it is that they can鈥檛 visit. She鈥檚 also had to call family members to say that a patient didn鈥檛 make it.
鈥淎t this point, you just have to be silent and present, and that鈥檚 something I remember learning from 91制片厂鈥檚 nursing program,鈥� Hanan, of Hoffman Estates, said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 always have to talk during a difficult situation. Being there over the phone is comforting to that person. That鈥檚 the power of presence, and that鈥檚 something we can learn in this pandemic.鈥�
Katie Marr, a 2018 graduate working as a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago,
said her experiences mirror Hanan鈥檚. Since she can鈥檛 always care for her patients
the way she wants to because of heightened safety protocols in place, she鈥檚 found
new ways to communicate.
For one, Katie can鈥檛 pop her head in a room to say, 鈥淗ow are you?鈥� so easily because of the protective gear she has to put on and take off every single time she enters a patient鈥檚 room. She鈥檚 also intentional about having physical contact with her patients.
鈥淏ecause of the eye shields and all the masks, one thing I want to do is touch my patients so they don鈥檛 feel like I think they鈥檙e scary,鈥� Katie, of Arlington Heights, said. 鈥淥ne patient said, 鈥楨veryone鈥檚 scared to death of me.鈥� I just want people to feel they鈥檙e still loved even though they have this virus.鈥�
Both Hanan and Katie describe 91制片厂鈥檚 nursing program as challenging and stressful but said it thoroughly prepared them for the workforce.
The program is as old as 91制片厂 itself 鈥� the first graduating class was in 1969 鈥� and it鈥檚 a selective program, so it doesn鈥檛 accept all applicants, said Julie D鈥橝gostino, 91制片厂鈥檚 nursing program director. One detail that sets the program apart, she said, is its faculty.
鈥淲hen you have full-time, tenured faculty teaching your theory courses, they understand what the test plan is, how to help those students understand what nursing鈥檚 all about,鈥� D鈥橝gostino said.
These full-time faculty also oversee students鈥� clinical courses, with part-time adjunct faculty who work in the field providing additional insight into the nuances of a nurse鈥檚 day-to-day life.
鈥淭he instructors were tough but caring,鈥� Hanan said. 鈥淭hey had high expectations for us as students, so that pushed us to perform well.鈥�
Hanan was a highly engaged student, serving as vice president of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society and helping to establish a community garden at Little City, which provides services to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also tutored algebra and volunteered as a 91制片厂 tour guide for local fifth and eighth graders.
Katie, who was a lab tutor for her peers, said nursing students benefit greatly from the simulation hospital where students practice on lifelike mannequins that blink and have a 鈥渉eartbeat.鈥� They are hooked up to computers, and if one has, for example, a cardiac arrest, a student can go through the treatment steps while an instructor monitors the student鈥檚 actions.
Even the soft skills practiced there 鈥� walking into a room and saying, 鈥淚鈥檒l be your nurse today,鈥� for example 鈥� were helpful, she said.
鈥淚t gave you an opportunity to practice in a forgiving space,鈥� Katie said.