Hardworking heroes

CITYLIFE | FRONTLINE Hardworking BY STACIE GAETZ heroes

What it’s like to be a medical professional during a pandemic

If one good thing has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be the fact that we are starting to give health care professionals the credit and respect they deserve.

We spoke to three Airdrie residents who are putting their lives on the line every day to keep us safe.

The most astonishing thing about this story? They are thanking us.

RN Morgan Hopman is a local health professional who fought to be on the front line to help patients during the pandemic.

When the COVID-19 virus started to circulate in Alberta, Hopman was three weeks away from graduating from the nursing program at Bow Valley College and finishing her final preceptorship at Airdrie Urgent Care.

She was disheartened when she was told her practicum would be cancelled until after the pandemic.

“When I decided to be a nurse, it was without hesitation, knowing I would have to face tough situations such as infectious diseases,” she says.

“Having my practicum cancelled due to COVID-19 broke my heart, knowing I was so close to being able to help in a larger capacity, but not being allowed.

“Being three weeks away from graduating, and receiving exceptional preceptorship evaluations, I knew that [my classmates and I] were competent in our nursing skills and knowledge,” she adds.

“I knew that in these hard times, hospitals and facilities were going to need nurses more than ever and we had a large pool of nurses who were willing to help.”

Not willing to sit around with nothing to do, Hopman wrote to Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro asking them to fast-track the graduating process.

She also started an online petition calling on the College of Licensed Practical Nurses to reconsider the decision to cancel the practicum, and allow the nurses to graduate.

Although she is not sure if it is the result of the work that she did, in early May, she received word from the college that she would be graduating.

She is now working at the Bethany Care Society as a licensed practical nurse.

“It feels great to be working in the long-term living facilities, helping people who are at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19,” she says.

“It’s a very scary time for a lot of the residents, and because of restrictions they are not able to see family in the same capacity as before. Besides keeping residents safe from the virus, I feel so blessed to be the person that puts a smile on their face and keeps them company in these times where it’s so easy to feel alone.”

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Trey Elkins and Rachael Jones both work in the MUSICIANS medical field. Elkins is a George McDougall High School graduate who is currently working as an advanced care VIEW PHOTOSparamedic with Calgary EMS, covering the areas of Airdrie, Cochrane, Olds and Okotoks. Jones is also a graduate of George Mac and works as a full-time RN on the Intensive Palliative Care Unit at Foothills Medical Centre.

“When the pandemic hit, I was nervous and curious,” says Jones.

“I wondered what the coronavirus was and how it was going to impact the world around me. I have family members with asthma so I couldn’t help but worry about them and of course our immunocompromised patient population on the unit.”

Elkins shared Jones’ concerns and says as a social person, the aspect he misses most about his job before the pandemic is shaking hands with the people he meets.

He adds that the biggest changes to the way he does his job day to day have been keeping distance from patients if possible, doing more detailed verbal assessments, wearing surgical masks throughout the day and even social distancing from the partner he works with.

Jones says the visitor restrictions at the hospital have been the hardest part of the pandemic for her. Her patients are only allowed one visitor and only at end of life.

However, Elkins says it hasn’t been all bad and the most positive thing he has seen come out of the pandemic is the fact that Alberta and the rest of Canada has stepped up.

“We’ve done incredibly well,” he says.

“The support of the community has been overwhelming. It gives me chills. I can’t thank the community enough.”