[Alma Rodriguez]

When I think of patriotism I think of a lot of people, especially people that served our military as the first statement read. There are other words that come to mind before patriotism to describe nurses, such as caregivers, compassionate workers, strong and intelligent. There were a few words to describe nurses when the pandemic began that a lot of the media, hospital management and our community members used to describe healthcare workers such as heroes, superheroes, amazing people, among others. And then there were statements after the pandemic had been around for a while which were very discouraging to read and feel like i was a part of such as “From hero to zero” when nurses and other healthcare members started to get fired for standing up for their medical freedoms. “You signed up for this, suck it up” when we expressed our concern over the lack and shortage of PPE. “You don’t know what you’re talking about” as we learned more about covid and regulations started changing leading our community to mistrust healthcare. Patriotism isn’t a word that I would have considered during these times, however, unless you have personally witnessed the death a lot of nurses have encountered, along with the grief they carry after working with so many of these people that unfortunately did not make it, patriotism would not be a word to describe healthcare workers, in this case nurses. After reflecting on these past years, and how the pandemic has personally affected my life, I would say patriotism and pride are absolutely some of the words I will start to include in my vocabulary due to the time, care and effort we put into our community to ensure the safety of others when at times we did not know exactly how this would personally affect us in more than one way.

[Alma Rodriguez]

Hello Avery,
I have come across people that have brushed off the importance of a DNP degree once i have mentioned it to them. Thankfully I have also come across people that have praised my decision to go back to school and continue my education because they know the importance nurses make and can only imagine how much more knowledgeful we will be as we are equipped with more information and more skills in our pockets. I have come to the conclusion that the people that are naysayers don’t fully understand the importance in education and it is not someone I will probably go out of my way to ask for advice on education. I did a lot of research prior to applying to the program and realized this was something that I wanted to do for myself as well as my patients. I have also encountered people that have made comments such as “why dont you just go to medical school” or “you still won’t be a doctor”. I take this time to educate those people that I don’t want to do either of these, or I don’t understand why our community still believes that healthcare is a hierarchy system where physicians are at the top instead of a multidisciplinary team where there are many people working together for the same goal. I will continue to continue to contribute to changing people’s negative view on the DNP degree.

[Alma Rodriguez]

Good day,
I found the Keeping COVID-19 Acute Cardiovascular Effects Top of Mind very insightful. Working in a cardiac ICU I found it very interesting to read how COVID has not only affected the respiratory system but has had an impact on the cardiac as well. At the beginning of COVID I remember encountering multiple patients that had critical cardiac symptoms, surgeries and poor prognosis. This doesn’t seem abnormal for a cardiac unit, however, at some point it felt that there was a wave of heart attacks, new onset heart problems, and now as we learn more about COVID, I realize that it wasn’t only because patients were delaying their trips to the hospital in fear of catching COVID, but because of COVID itself causing cardiovascular issues as well. ECMO appears to be successful in certain COVID patients, in some cases i have seen these patients get transfer while on ECMO to receive a lung transplant. As COVID becomes something we are still encountering, it is crucial that we continue to learn more about the different effects this virus has on the body, especially on our cardiovascular system. Thank you for sharing this information from the AACCN.

[Author]

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