Adaptation

I have appreciated writing these blogs for class because it allows freedom of expression and the ability to speak my mind. During regular classes and clinicals during the semester, it just felt as though it was an assignment that I had to do. I didn’t mind writing them, but I did it for school and allocated time because it was an assignment. Now, it seems as though this has become a nice source of relief during this isolating time. I used to journal and have a diary when I was younger, but as school became more intense and time consuming, I lost touch of that hobby. Now, having only left my house to take my dog for walks, I have found a new sense of relief by being able to speak my mind about this situation. 

My whole family has to be home during this time; an occurrence that doesn’t normally happen unless it’s the holidays. My dad works a full time job, year round. My mom works in a school district, so for as long as I can remember she has only had summers off. I am the middle child and both my brothers are two years apart from me, younger and older. We have always all been in school at the same time and only see each other during school breaks, holidays, and summers. So this is an anomaly for my family as I’m sure it is for many other families. We have been around each other for three weeks now and my parents have only left the house twice to load up on food at the grocery store. And when they do go out, they use sanitizer, they don’t touch their face, and they meticulously clean the car and every door handle they may have touched coming into the house. 

This is such a strange world to be living in right now, academics wise and socially. One of the main reasons I chose a college away from my hometown was because I know that I have a hard time effectively getting work done at home. My whole family is home, the news is constantly on the TV, my dog is cute and distracting, and everyone is busy doing things around the house they normally wouldn’t have time for otherwise. In review, there is a whole lot of noise all day long. I am someone that would be at the library every day, on the fourth floor, studying for hours. I would bring food with me or get some on campus to eat while I studied through meal times. I get easily distracted so I would always sit in a cubby in the corner so I could solely focus on my work and get the most effective studying done. 

On top of the noise challenge that is a daily struggle, all academics and clinicals have moved to online. I have taken online classes before, so I mostly know how to work them. This is not the case for many nursing instructors because nursing is a discipline that is usually not taught online. So, it has been a lot for my instructors because they are figuring out how to make voiceover powerpoints and hold Zoom conferences. In addition, our clinical paperwork now has to be submitted online so my instructor has to learn how to grade, evaluate, and leave comments to us online. We also have started virtual simulations for clinicals so that has been a struggle to learn how to adapt to the new software. 

Overall, this change in scenery, noise level, and online learning has been both a struggle and a blessing. I am thankful I am able to complete my senior year on time with the academics I need to prepare me for my boards. Is being in clinical assuming full care of four patients more experience? Most definitely, but I am staying positive and grateful that my instructors have pushed for a way that we can learn and graduate on time. It is also a struggle seeing my parents worry about how we are going to finance our living situation potentially without an income for the month of April. It is hard to stay focused on academics with so much going on in the world around us right now. It has been a struggle adapting to going to my computer everyday for classes or clinical but it is something I am adapting to. This is a time of adaptation and everyone has to accommodate to this, one way or another. I believe that if everyone does their part to slow the spread of this virus and flatten the curve, we as a country can come out of this stronger and with a renewed sense of life.