I want this blog to be an eye opener to what it is like to work in the medical field in a time when a novel virus kills randomly and without warning. Let me start this story by saying I tested Negative for Covid-19.
In my Endoscopy Department, every patient we care for is required to have a negative Covid-19 swab no more than 3 days prior to their procedure, except for inpatients!
Although inpatients are tested on the day of their admission, it is not repeated unless indicated. This is true even if the patient is coming to endoscopy for a high risk exposure procedure.
On Friday, I cared for an inpatient who had one of these high risk exposure procedures. And when I say “high risk exposure”, I am referring to medical staff being exposed and not the patient!
The patient came to me in recovery and due to the type of procedure, was coughing uncontrollably for at least 10 minutes. As I stood by their side trying to help my patient breath, suctioning their mouth, and reassuring them that this was normal, I was being told by the reporting nurse that their Covid-19 test was negative and I didn’t need an N-95 mask despite wearing one herself. All I had on for protection was a hospital provided surgical mask.
After I finally got the patient settled, coughing under control, and vitals stable, I felt impelled to grab more appropriate PPI for this type of patient. PPI is being rationed and only provided for known positive cases.
This past Tuesday, my manager informed me that this same patient tested positive for Covid-19 since their procedure. I was never informed that the patient was pending a retest. My exposure resulted in me being tested for Covid this past Friday.
The outcome of this story could have been different, but I am one of the fortunate ones. According to the CDC, there are over 9,000 positive cases among healthcare workers and at least 600 of those have died due to the virus. To say that it is a scary time to be a nurse is an understatement!
This holiday weekend, I continued my social isolation with a round of disc golf with my family and celebrated those who put the lives of others before their own- Military, Police, Fire Fighters, First Responders and ALL Healthcare workers!
