COVID-19 
Under a microscope (Image viaScienceAlert Pty Ltd)
SUNY Cortland's Biological Sciences students and graduates stories!
Olga Grygiel:
Facing unforeseen challenges caused by SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in significant changes in the way the world functions, but with each shift we are learning to adapt and overcome the unfamiliarity of this pandemic. I am thankful to work as a Patient Care Technician in the Intensive Care Unit of Guthrie Cortland Medical Center, as I have been exposed to the great importance of empathy and humanity during one of the most medically relevant problems of the modern world.
As part of the Pandemic Plan of the hospital, all visits from family members, or other visitors, were prohibited during the patient stay. Unfortunately, due to this, I have held hands of many patients taking their last breaths in a room devoid of their family. Yet it is also during this time that each member of the medical team ensures that every patient is given support, compassion and the self-confidence in which they know they are not alone.
Additionally, whenever we have downtime during our 12-hour shifts, the ICU staff decorates homemade cards with words, pictures and quotes, which are then sent out to other facilities with SARS-CoV-2 units. I feel fortunate for being able to express my support in a positive and productive way, and I like to think that these cards make an impact on patient recovery and inspires the medical staff to keep going during these hard times. I encourage each individual reading this to make homemade cards and send them to various hospitals around the work, as I can assure you they will reach the hands of someone that needs it.
We can all make a difference.
In the photograph below, you can see face shields and face masks ready for our 12-hour night shift. Near the left, you can also see our growing stack of homemade cards.
Prepped and ready to begin the shift !
Joseph Aabye:
Working as a medical scribe in a community Emergency Department has provided me the unique perspective of observing the impacts of COVID-19 as non-clinical personnel in a clinical setting. Though I am minimally involved with direct patient care, I have witnessed how quickly policies and procedures have changed to adapt to our evolving knowledge of the pandemic. One of these policy changes required me to begin working remotely, as many others have over the last few months. The main challenge this has presented is remaining somewhat connected to the patients and providers, even if I am not directly with them. This requires me to follow cases based on order sets and status symbols instead of the more active role I typically take in a patient's disposition. Fortunately, I will return to the department within the next couple of weeks and am looking forward to being back in that environment.
Bradley Dewitt:
As a physician assistant (PA-C) in an outpatient internal medicine clinic, we have had to radically change our methodology of managing patients in a constantly changing environment. In early March with the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, internal medicine practitioners changed focus of care from preventive medicine to predominantly acute care and critical care management in preparation for the massive flux of high-acuity patients in the impatient setting (in the case that we were to be called into our local hospitals for support). March and April consisted mainly of training, learning of this new disease, all while attempting to keep my patient panel in my usual clinic as healthy as possible.
One of the greatest difficulties I have personally experienced throughout the pandemic is maintaining continuity of care. My diabetics, COPD patients, hypothyroid, obese patients, and any others that used to see me and the laboratory for routine follow ups were being lost in the storm of chaos that we all have been experiencing over the last few months. To compensate for this and my patient's fears, we have adapted the use of Facetime, Zoom, and Facebook for tele-medicine visits; or I re-arrange my hours so patients feel more comfortable coming in.
Nicholas Puoplo:
Resident Physician in Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Being a resident physician in New York City during the peak of pandemic was a pretty unbelievable experience. I am a pediatrics resident but the hospital took an all-hands-on-desk approach and many residents from every hospital specialty were deployed to work on the adult medicine floors to treat COVID patients during the peak of infection in New York City. The sheer number of COVID positive patients getting admitted to our hospital hourly was intimidating and the illness severity was very high. As horrible and scary as this situation was, it was inspiring to see nurses, physicians and other staff come together to educate each other and to treat the patients with quality care. I'm proud to have been part of the solution during this unique time.
.jpg)
Melissa Moran:
I have been working the front lines at Walk-In Urgent Care located in New City, NY in Rockland County where there has been over 13,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases. As a medical assistant, I have many tasks assigned to me, such as testing for COVID-19, performing venipunctures for COVID-19 lgG Antibody testing, communicating results with patients and more. Recently, we have been performing rapid COVID-19 tests in which results are available in 15 minutes. I am fortunate to have this experience to give back to my community in need and have gained an abundance of medical knowledge and skills.
Alison Davis:
I am currently volunteering for the West Hampton war memorial ambulance as an EMT. As a volunteer I do a 12 hour night shift every week as well as answering many emergency calls during the day.
Kaleb Frierson:
Kaleb has worked as an EMS throughout the pandemic. I work for multiple EMS agencies in the Central New York region, providing 9-1-1 response in Cayuga, Cortland, and Onondaga counties. As an Emergency Medical Technician I perform patient assessments, form a working field diagnosis, and treat the presenting problem while transporting the patient to the most appropriate hospital. I work side-by-side with paramedics, nurses, and doctors to assist in obtaining the goal of quality patient care.
When COVID-19 struck the biggest obstacle that I faced was knowing that I could come to work the next day and not have a mask when I get there and that was a tad trifling. I also saw a rapid change in our response to infection control. While things like temperature checks, sanitation, changing clothes, etc.became more strict, guidelines surrounding re-using PPE and the types if PPE seemed to loosen due only to a lack of the appropriate equipment. Luckily, this hos now changed and we have been able to stock up again. I have encountered many patients whom have had the symptoms for COVID; however, we do not always find out he results of their testing so we must treat every situation as if we are being exposed. Unfortunately, the way that EMS professionals and many other health care workers perform their jobs likely been changed forever. I believe we are all hopeful for a vaccine and some return to normalcy.
