Sophomore nursing major, Abby Royer, is one of many students helping to fight COVID-19. Photo by Ethan Pellegrino.
Over the past several months, University of Rhode Island nursing students have taken steps to join the fight against COVID-19 by entering the workforce.
The URI College of Nursing contacted students by email during the mandatory quarantine period to see if anyone would be willing to receive an emergency-CNA license. The virus began to overwhelm hospitals and nurses quickly, leading the University to ask nursing students to help.
Janelle Chamberland, a senior nursing student, worked as a CNA on a COVID-19 floor in Rhode Island Hospital from April to June.
Chamberland said an average day in a COVID-19 unit consisted of a 12-hour shift, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Once she arrived on the floor, she would be required to immediately put on a gown, gloves, N-95 mask and face shield. While on the floor, nursing staff members were required to wear this protective gear for the duration of the shift.
“Initially I was really nervous to do it, [but] I felt like I couldn’t just not be a part of helping, so I wanted the job,” said Chamberland. “Once I got there I wasn’t sure I would be able to handle it, given everything that’s been going on.”
While eager to take on this job, Chamberland expressed an underlying fear of being diagnosed with COVID-19 herself.
“Over time I realized what a blessing it was to be able to work on that floor because it was such an eye-opening experience of really first hand the effects of what’s going on in the pandemic,” Chamberland said.
Chamberland was not the only brave nursing student to join the fight against the global pandemic. Preston Stachelek, a graduate of the College of Nursing, took the same initiative as Chamberland. Stachelek went through the same process as Chamberland, and completed an emergency course in order to receive a CNA license.
Stachelek worked at the Miriam Hospital in Providence. Here, she treated patients on a COVID-19 floor with patients aged 30-90 years old.
“It definitely prepared me more for the nursing field and gave me more hands-on experience,” Stachelek said.
While both students had already acquired a few years of training from URI’s nursing program, entering the COVID-19 floor was a bit overwhelming.
“I thought I was in over my head and I wasn’t even sure if I was even doing the job properly,” Chamberland said.
This opportunity gave Stachelek, who has always been interested in emergency care and intensive care unit-level care, more experience in a fast-paced environment.
“I was also able to float to the ICUs when they had a really heavy COVID patient load,” said Stachelek, “and that just further pushed my passion that I wanted to [work] in an ICU.”
Both students showed extreme bravery and courage during their performance as CNA on COVID-19 floors. They are just two of the many nursing students in Rhode Island who helped combat the pandemic to help COVID patients.
“I think for the rest of my life, for my whole nursing career, I’m always going to remember that these little things that we do everyday to take precautions they really matter,” Chamberland said. “They really do save lives.”