What about Nursing Students?

Katie O’Neill shares her experiences as a nursing student during the pandemic

—By Reian Zhang

At 6 a.m. Katie O’Neill arrives at the hospital: vitals room 4, seizure room 9, medication delivery 8, code blue room 5. Coming home from a 10-hour shift at the hospital, O’Neill feels exhausted, but her day does not end there. Without having the time to process the events at the hospital, O’Neill arrives at her room prepared to only stay a few minutes. Grabbing her computer, coffee, and a 9th edition 900-page anatomy book, O’Neill walks towards the Taubman Health Sciences library to study before her class in the evening. This is just the start of a day for a nursing student at the University of Michigan.

The perfect first year

Having always been a studious student, O’Neill knew she wanted to pursue a profession that was both skill-based and intellectual. Seeing that nursing gave her the best of both worlds, she was immediately drawn and enrolled into an intensive four-year nursing program at the University of Michigan. Starting out, nursing school was everything that O’Neill had hoped for. She was able to immerse herself in nursing-specific coursework, hands-on skill labs that taught basic medical procedures, and nursing leadership courses that focused on the psychosocial aspects of patient care. Although keeping up in these classes required long hours of studying, O’Neill put in the hard work, setting the foundation for her nursing career.

The structure of nursing school was nothing O’Neill had ever experienced before. The school of nursing mimicked the collaborative environment of hospitals in their curriculum. With this emphasis on collaboration, O’Neill learned novel ways to work efficiently and build relationships. From projects to navigating difficult patient scenarios, teamwork was essential. O’Neill and her peers embraced this aspect of nursing school, which allowed for a cohesive cohort.  “Being with the same 120 nursing students working on our careers together year after year has really brought us closer together. I really would not be here today without them.” 

The pandemic

With finishing each year of the nursing program comes more rigorous course load and responsibilities. Not only was O’Neill expected to keep up with her coursework, she also was required to synthesize and apply her skills and knowledge to clinical rotations. At the University of Michigan, nursing students are required to interact with patients under the supervision of clinical faculty at the fourth largest hospital in Michigan, Michigan Medicine. “You don’t understand how real your impact is until you are at your first clinical rotation beside the bed of a real, live patient.”

O’Neill had to do her first clinical rotation at the beginning of a global pandemic. With concerns about shortage of supplies and safety, O’Neill and her classmates were fearful about what would be expected of them as nursing students. Further worsening the situation, the unpredictable nature of the pandemic caused university policy to be ambiguous. Despite being thrown into this tough situation, O’Neill and her classmates all wanted to help. Not only did she have in-person clinicals in a high-exposure environment, but she also had to adapt to the online curriculum. “It was a scary time for my peers because going virtual made it difficult for the nursing program to be comprehensive. For example, instead of being able to practice starting an IV drip or inserting a catheter, all we had were these online computer simulations. How could we feel prepared for our clinical rotation with just these computer simulations?”

During the beginning of the pandemic, the university took precautions to keep nursing students safe by not allowing them to work in Covid wards during clinicals. However, the university just lifted this restriction a week ago, forcing a randomly selected group of nursing students to work in Covid wards. “The school of nursing sent an email saying that certain clinical groups including my own are now going to be sent into Covid rooms. There was no warning, there was no discussion, we were just told. I felt like this was kind of a backtrack as our health and well-being are no longer a concern.”

The unrelenting expectations

The experiences that O’Neill felt as a nursing student are not unique to the University of Michigan, but are felt nationwide. The pandemic has been tough on nursing students as they are tossed into an atmosphere that is hard on their mental health. With staffing shortages due to the pandemic, nurses have to rely on nursing students to step up and fill their roles. Many students find themselves unprepared and thrown into situations that they have little training for. Furthermore, due to restrictions and constant risk of exposure, nursing students are often left isolated with few support systems available to them. Many nursing students, like O’Neil, report that they feel expendable.

The pandemic not only has added pressure on nursing students, but also it has exacerbated existing issues within the nursing program. Most notably, veteran nurses are often found bullying novices. Sometimes considered a rite of passage, this phenomenon is encapsulated in the idiom “nurses eat their young.” Extreme micromanaging, verbal criticism, insults, gossiping, and unfair assignments are ingrained in nursing culture. With the pandemic, the bullying seen in hospitals is often compounded with the stigma associated with Covid. Health professionals who are infected with Covid, irrespective of the reason, often lose respect or status in the community.

The pressure to step up and become a “healthcare hero,” performing with high levels of proficiency and little training, all while having to deal with stigma and bullying, exerts a toll on nursing students. Although being resilient is an expected quality that all nursing students have, there needs to be change in order to better support nursing students. If special care is taken during the foundational and instructional periods of a nurse’s career, it will not only better prepare nurses for their important role in healthcare, but it will also transform and eradicate the toxic culture of nursing seen in hospitals. 

The future

O’Neil’s experiences shed light on the trials and tribulations of starting a career in nursing. Even through these unprecedented times, her resilience and tenacity have allowed her to excel in the nursing program. As she goes into her final year of nursing, she plans not only to graduate but also raise awareness about the stigma and issues surrounding the nursing profession. O’Neill believes the root of these issues starts in nursing school. Therefore, after gaining experience in the field and further understanding the problem, she will return and pursue a career as a nursing professor. O’Neill hopes that when she mentors nursing students, she will be able to create a friendly and supportive environment in which her students can learn and gain new experiences. “If there is one thing I know for certain, there will be change and it starts now.”

Featured Image: Katie O’Neill (left), junior nursing student at U-M, and Devra Deleston, RA at Markley, at a costume party. Photo Credit: Reian Zhang