Live a Day in the Life of a COVID-19 Nurse
Maureen Casey, a nurse in Hershey, Pennsylvania, spends her days treating patients with COVID-19. She’s the president of her nurses union with SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania and a member of the special pathogens team at Hershey Medical Center. Back in early April, Casey started showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. But after self-quarantining for two weeks and testing negative, she’s back on the job. I recently spoke to Casey about what her day-to-day looks like.
(Casey’s words have been edited for clarity and length)
Two coffees before work
I get up, have coffee, get showered and dressed, get another coffee on the way to work. I'm not as tired since I’ve come back [to work after self-quarantining]. For National Nurses Week, the administrative staff were at the hospital entrance for us, cheering with signs. It's really nice to see that and come in with a spring in your step, like you’re going to have a good day.
7 a.m. hospital shift
I work five eight-hour shifts a week, starting at 7 a.m. We change out of our outside clothes into the hospital’s scrubs, then get our paper bag with our reused N95 mask and our clean plastic face shields. We get our assignment – usually one or two patients. We do cluster care by gathering everything together for our patients (like meals and medication), so we can go into the room as few times as possible.
Another nurse will hand us the trays, open the door to the negative pressure room, a pressure system that draws air into the room and sucks it out through a filtration system, and close it behind us. Most patients put on their own simple face masks when we come in and take them off when we leave. We do a head-to-toe assessment, give them their medication and breakfast, and talk about their schedule. “OK, we can get you washed up now or in two hours.” You're in there for a good half-hour.
We come out and enter assessments into the computers, and talk to the docs about the day’s plans: if the patient needs to be re-swabbed, or is “under investigation” after getting a negative swab with COVID-19 symptoms. Then it's answering call bells, prepping for lunch, catching up on some education stuff and keeping an eye out on the cardiac monitors.
Trying to have an air of confidence
At first it was all kind of excitingly terrifying. The special pathogens team had practiced for Ebola. But then we were seeing patients who were coughing, and then they had to be intubated in the ICU. Like, wait a second, they were fine. As union president, nurses are telling me they’re terrified, and I’m trying to have an air of confidence.
Someone discharged this morning wanted Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” playing over the hospital speakers. You hear that and you tell your patient, “See, we can do that for you too. We're going to get you out of here soon.”
Patients can’t see your smile
Today I was the out-person nurse helping with errands and more challenging patients. One patient was confused, lying in bed, going, “Well this isn’t my car … I don't see where the steering wheel is, so it’s very difficult to drive.” It's a lot of helping each other. If someone’s going for a walk, one nurse goes ahead of everybody, opening the doors and clearing the hallway.
But without visitors, I have one less person to joke with. And It's difficult having the mask and face shields on – patients can't see your smile. It’s frustrating to not be able to stay in the room with them and talk. At the end of the day, you summarize what's going on with the patient and what the plans are to the incoming nurse. Then we change clothes again.
Tired, but satisfied
At home I put the clothes I’m wearing in the laundry, then take a shower just to make sure, even though I've sanitized my hands 15 million times. I'm tired at the end of the day, but satisfied. This process of having to change clothes three, four times a day – gown up, gown down, and on and off and repeat – and taking care of patients, it’s become the new normal. You had the terrifying start to it, then the doldrums of, “Oh, I have to do this again.” Now I'm back to thinking, “OK, this is what our day is.”
Now, meet the doctor who survived Ebola and is now battling COVID-19
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