Being a nurse was already hard. But in the pandemic, it’s become almost impossible.
Credit.Adria Malcolm for The New York Times
By Theresa Brown
Ms. Brown is a nurse and the author of “The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives.”
Feb. 25, 2021
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New York this spring, Jessica Fink wanted to help. She’s been a nurse for 15 years, and she moved from Delaware to serve at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island.
Ms. Fink told me she was “ready to contribute,” to care for Covid patients. But once she got to Stony Brook, where she worked in the I.C.U., she “felt very alone.”
managing the ventilator. it s not easy. reporter: the health care workers in coronavirus hot spots are exhausted. hundreds are sick themselves. and while there are concerns about protective gear and lifesaving equipment, another shortage looms. the staff themselves. we were short-staffed today. every single manager, every manager from our unit came in, and they chipped in, and they did everything they could. reporter: tens of thousands are volunteering, answering a call to help in new york, like 32-year-old nurse jessica fink from new mexico, who just started working at a new york icu. i have specifically pulmonary critical care experience. so, you know, if anybody should be helping, it should definitely be me. reporter: for the nurses and doctors who get sick, a desire to get back on the job with possible immunity. you ll feel like you re invincible because you can deal with this crisis without anybody having to worry.