STILL (MOSTLY) THE SAME

NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED FOR STUDENTS IN CLINICALS BY SARAH JOYNER

Diva Tran has just finished her second day of clinicals as a firsttime nursing student when she joins the Zoom session. She pauses long enough to flash a large smile before launching into her description of the past two days spent at CHI Memorial Hospital Hixson.

“It was amazing. Every single one of us loved it,” she says, referencing fellow first-level students in the class.

“We all learned something. Yesterday we were trying to get the gist of just being in that hallway, knowing where everything is, learning to talk to the patients. Today was about being more comfortable and not doubting yourself.”

But Tran, a native of Dayton, Tennessee, admits that the months leading up to this moment hadn’t been so amazing. “Nerve-wracking” is how she describes them.

“I kept telling people that I was still going into nursing and they all seemed surprised, with everything going on,” she explains. “It’s pretty scary, but somebody’s got to do it.”

Diva Tran

Tran transferred to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the spring after taking advantage of Tennessee Promise to earn a tuition-free associate’s degree from Chattanooga State Community College. She was knocking out her final prerequisites for the nursing program last spring when classes were moved online. Although she says the experience wasn’t all bad, she did not want to relive it in the fall and was nervous about what her first semester as a nursing student would look like.

“I did not want to do nursing school online at all,” Tran explains. “So, I really appreciate that UTC did everything they could to keep us in class.”

Fourth-level nursing student Chyna Germany, agrees.

“I think we really need to be in a clinical setting,” she says. “Because, realistically, when we become nurses, we can’t be like, ‘There’s a pandemic. I’m just going to take off.’ That’s not going to happen. I feel like we definitely needed the exposure.”

Comparing the fall semester’s clinical experience to those in the past, more precautions are now in place, she says. Students wear goggles and N95 respiratory masks during their shift; they must remember each room they’ve been in for contact-tracing purposes, and some patient rooms are off-limits. But overall, not a lot has changed, she says.

“I feel like, honestly, it’s the same as before COVID-19 happened,” Germany says. “Our teachers know a little more about it. They’re making sure we’re protected, and they’re protected.” +