Nanaimo Regional General Hospital nurses are among countless individuals on the front lines fighting COVID-19. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

NURSES WEEK

‘It has changed how we deliver care:’ Nanaimo nurses adjust to new normal on COVID-19 front lines

May 17, 2020 | 7:31 AM

NANAIMO — Long shifts and thankless work have long been staples of nursing, however the COVID-19 pandemic has put front line hospital staff on centre stage.

National Nurses Week was celebrated May 11-17 across the country, with 2020 celebrations especially poignet given the current global health emergency.

Janet Vennard, a clinical nurse educator in the intensive care ward of NRGH, told NanaimoNewsNOW the coronavirus pandemic has put an additional layer of caution in daily routines and forced nurses to adapt when dealing with isolated patients.

“We no longer just run in a room when have to perform a task,” Vennard said. “We take a breath and review how we’re going to don our PPE in a safe, standardized manner. It has changed how we deliver care if someone is in isolation.”

One recent patient struck an emotional chord with Vennard.

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“We had a patient in isolation, he was anxious and really worried, he didn’t know what was happening,” Vennard said, fighting back tears. “A nurse that was in her droplet plus contact PPE reached out to him and still held his hand and said ‘it’s going to be ok, I’ll explain everything that we’re doing.'”

Vennard said the situation showed how adaptable nurses are when delivering patient care, providing comfort and compassion even under layers of impersonal protective equipment

Technology has also played a big role during the pandemic, as unprecedented social distancing restrictions isolated patients away from loved ones.

Nurses have added a number of iPads to their inventory to allow patients to video chat with their family.

The devices are also used to link care teams at smaller regional centres on the Island with hospitals in Nanaimo and Victoria.

“We’re still able to deliver care to our patients and be the nurse that we want to be. Just because we’re in protective equipment, that doesn’t take being a nurse away.”

Nightly tributes have become the norm during the pandemic in Nanaimo and communities across the country. Pots and pans, horns and other noise makers have regularly gone off at 7 p.m. to show appreciation for frontline workers.

At the height of the pandemic, Nanaimo first responders performed a siren salute in late March. Three weeks later, classic cars from the mid-Island drove through the city and completed a lap of the hospital to show their support.

“I get emotional about this. I say to the community, ‘thank you but I’m doing my job,'” Vennard said. “It’s nice to be acknowledged but I’m also mindful of other people working on the front line, for instance the grocery clerks.”

According to Vennard, the pandemic will force nursing to closely look at how it operates after the health emergency subsides, how nurses deliver care and the processes in place to protect staff and patients.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley