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In Their Own Words A K-State perspective on health care during COVID-19

Note: This article originally appeared in the spring 2021 issue of K-Stater magazine.

We asked some Wildcats in the medical profession to share their thoughts on how they’ve battled the coronavirus pandemic.

Abbey Brockman ’09, BSN, RN, OCN, Senior Clinical Nurse Consultant, Bristol-Myers Squibb

As a pharmaceutical nurse educator working through a pandemic, I have had to discover creative ways to get vital knowledge to health care providers and patients without breaking the social distancing regulations. Rather than traveling and presenting to nurses, physicians and pharmacists in person, I have created a small studio within my home to engage clinicians. Professionally and personally this has been difficult to adjust to and I continue to challenge myself to find new ways to get providers the education they need while also toeing the line with respecting how difficult it is to work the front lines through a pandemic. My once engaged and tentative audience is now overwhelmed and dwindling. They are overworked, underpaid and never respected enough. But just as those on the front lines will never stop caring about the patients that they are helping through a cancer diagnosis, I will never stop offering education, even when a pandemic strikes and the landscape in which I provide that education changes.

Sarah Truman ’15, OD, FAAO, Optometrist, Professional Eye Care

As an optometrist, I work inches away from a patient’s face. Only emergency cases were seen in the early stages of the pandemic. Since then, optometrists have seen unique issues for us during the pandemic, such as lenses on the phoropter and condensing lenses used with the slit lamp (microscope) fogging from wearing masks, just like glasses do. I have to fit a record number of patients in contact lenses in response to this. Blue light glasses are all the rage right now, but currently studies only prove that these lenses help with your sleep cycle; you get more “blue light damage” spending 10 minutes outside than all week in front of a computer! There are also emerging trends with eyestrain and headaches with more and more people working from home — many of these complaints stemming from uncorrected low prescriptions and the eyes not working well together as a team. There have also been infrequent cases of COVID-19-related conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, or strange visual phenomenon in patients that have recovered from COVID-19.

Crystal Funke ’10, PT, DPT, MHA, Physical Therapist, Stormont Vail Hospital

March 25. That was the day I saw my first COVID patient. Since then I’ve seen many. Sometimes it’s days and weeks of just COVID patients. Patients that I plead with to change positions so they can breathe better, compromise that if they’ll sit on the edge of the bed I’ll braid their hair or we’ll help them brush their teeth. If they stand, we can change out all their linens. They struggle with simple movements and their oxygen drops with minor activities. I beg for them to recover as I hear the alarms ringing.

While the pandemic itself has been isolating, there is a team effort I see within the hospital walls. We recognize that this is a trying time, and that the sickness and death is taking a mental toll on each of us. We help each other out. We complete duties that are normally not our own to continue caring for our patients. We rely on the joy of successes, such as patient recovery and getting the vaccine, to continue battling this virus, to continue hoping that one day this will be just a memory.

Mark Meyer ’84, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs, University of Kansas School of Medicine

As the state’s medical school, I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve been able to do, and grateful and appreciative of our partners throughout the state in Wichita and Salina, our volunteer faculty that continue to host students and, of course, The University of Kansas Health System. Throughout the pandemic, medicine has continued to adapt, as has medical education and our school. I talk to our students regularly and each time I express my profound appreciation for their resiliency. Because think about it, we are now in the spring semester for our first-year class and their experience in medical school has been unlike any others. Similarly, our second-year, third-year, fourth-year students also had to adapt. The resilience and grit of our students is profound, and I’m particularly appreciative of our first-year students because even their onboarding to the medical profession and our medical school was virtual.

We have been very intentional and careful when asking students to come to campus for required in-person assessment and patient care activities. Fortunately, we have done so safely. Every class has had their training interrupted and changed, but students, like our faculty, have adapted. Through the shared efforts of faculty, students and staff, our students are meeting their training milestones. There are medical schools across the country that are still scrambling to catch up and complete requirements. Overall, all of our students are moving forward in our curriculum and progressing along the normal timeline. So again, I’m very proud of our operations on all three campuses — Kansas City, Salina and Wichita, and have the utmost respect for all of our students and faculty who have helped keep the physician supply chain moving forward.

Jim Parker ’95, MBA, Director of Lafene Health Center

With all of the challenges, Lafene Health Center was as prepared as we could be. Through many of the trials faced, the fatigue, hard decisions and a wide variety of other emotions and realities, I have a deep sense of pride in how the units I am responsible for adapted and overcame significant obstacles to provide exceptional service and genuine care for our K-State community during the entirety of the pandemic. I am personally thankful to the leaders and staff of Lafene Health Center, Counseling Services and the Cats’ Cupboard for their dedication, courage and innovation to remain available to our patients, clients and customers despite difficult circumstances. I am also thankful for the immense support these units have enjoyed from our upline management and university administration. It is particularly rewarding to know that we took, and continue to take, incredible measures to have a positive and meaningful impact both on, and beyond, our campus, throughout the duration of the pandemic.

Derek Nold ’16, Fourth-year Medical Student, University of Kansas School of Medicine - Wichita

As a medical student during the pandemic, I am continually humbled by the impact physicians have on their community. With the opportunity to train under numerous influential doctors and go to a school whose dean also is the head county health official for Sedgwick County, I am reminded I will not just provide health care for patients in my practice, but will impact the health of the general public.

Since the beginning of one’s medical education, we are taught that a patient must first weigh the risks and benefits before making any health care decision. The difficulty with public health is everyone has their own unique risks and benefits that vary with each person’s situation. So there is no one single plan that works best for everybody. But one thing remains the same, we must educate and share our knowledge with the community so they can make the best decisions for themselves and those around them.

But informing is only half the battle, we must continue to provide encouragement and lead others through our own actions. Like a lot of people, I think masks can be uncomfortable to wear. I wish schools and businesses were operating on all cylinders. I miss the social atmosphere from before the pandemic, and the sight of empty seats at K-State home games with no tailgating disgusts me. But these are sacrifices I am willing to make. And hopefully, it will encourage others making similar sacrifices to continue their efforts for the safety and well-being of our communities.

Erin Gettler ’10, MD, Clinical Fellow, Division of Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

My interest in infectious diseases started at Kansas State through courses like microbiology and immunology, and was fostered by extraordinary teachers like Drs. Larry Williams and Stephen Chapes.

This past year has been a pendulum of emotions, oscillating between extremes. Some of the darkest moments have been filled with despair as we witness the loss of life with a rapidity that has resulted in the loss of recognition of those persons as individuals. I have observed health care providers working tirelessly, desperately searching for what will save the life of the patient before them, and the feelings of inadequacy and helplessness that follow when the battle is lost.

There is no denying the loss of life has been devastating. But at the same time, this pandemic has sparked interdisciplinary collaboration and support between health care providers that has been a privilege to witness. I am overcome by gratitude for the researchers who have dropped everything to answer the call to find effective therapies and vaccines, as well as for those that came before and dedicated decades of work to advance the science we are currently implementing. I am thankful for the seemingly tireless public health officials who continue to show up and share science even when met with distrust and doubt. I am humbled by the outpouring of love and support from our communities. I consider medicine to be one of the most fulfilling careers, but it demands so much. This pandemic has created visibility of this sacrifice, and while health care providers appreciate the public acknowledgement, the truth is we would continue to do this work regardless and will continue to do so once the spotlight fades. And because of that, I have never been more proud to be a health care provider.

Kate Frey ’13, OTR/L, Occupational Therapist, Stormont Vail Hospital

I never imagined that I would be living through a pandemic, let alone working right in the middle of it all. Working with COVID patients has presented new challenges in the hospital. As an occupational therapist, I want my patients to participate in everyday tasks, such as brushing their teeth and washing their face. Some of my COVID patients don’t have the strength or endurance to do the simplest task. Other times, my COVID patients are completely capable of completing these tasks without assistance; however, their oxygen saturation takes a dive with each movement and tasks that should take a few seconds are now taking minutes as we practice deep breathing and watch the monitors. I have helped patients use their phones or iPads to call their family members as visitors are not allowed on the COVID floor. Recognizing the loneliness we are all experiencing is crucial. We, as health care workers, are trying to bring positivity to our patients whenever possible. We cannot fill our patient’s glass when ours is empty. We depend on our friends, family and community for support through this pandemic. We will continue to fight, and we will get through this together.

Michael Page ’09, MD, CAQSM, Assistant Medical Director, Lafene Health Center

Commonly, people may ask what it is like going through a medical education and you will hear the adage “it’s like trying to take sips from a fire hydrant.” Interestingly for me, the pandemic experience parallels this sentiment. As a medical provider, I feel both professionally and personally, this experience has been overwhelming. The pandemic is unlike anything I have experienced and it provided several opportunities for growth, but I would like to share my growth in regards to the importance of community and relationships. From the moments of exhaustion after wearing full gown, gloves, respirator throughout the day, to the emotional stressors of the unknown, to the disruption of normal routines and schedules, I have truly appreciated being in an environment of sharing one another’s burdens and encouraging one another. There have been times of tears, listening and need for encouragement which has helped myself and hopefully others walk through this pandemic. I feel that this highlights the fact that we are relational beings that long for and need those interactions. Challenges will come throughout our lives and I pray that our experience through this COVID period will stress the importance of supporting, loving and encouraging one another.

Photos courtesy of iStock.com

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