Like many important dates in life, 16 March 2020 is one that holds an indelible place in my mind. On that day, I received a message from my university leadership that said “Campuses will be closed effective immediately due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This closure includes all in-person classroom, skills lab, simulation, and clinical experiences. Faculty will move instruction online beginning Monday, 19 March 2020 until further notice.”
“Wow” was the first word that came to my mind.
The pandemic created an atmosphere we never had experienced in academia. Faculty were unsure of what do to next and were feeling the pressure of quickly providing online education, a modality of teaching some had not utilized in the past. They were scrambling for online resources for clinical replacement hours and coping with their own feelings regarding the pandemic.
As the academic director on our campus, I received emails throughout the day and evening from students expressing concern regarding their financial investment in their education, and fear about the ability to graduate and “be a good nurse” despite the lack of hands-on clinical experience. That theme resonated with each and every email. During the first semester of the nursing program, we talk about care planning. We teach about fear and powerlessness and how it impacts patients who are hospitalized for an illness event. As I reflected on the emails I was receiving, that was the essence—students were afraid and felt powerless in their ability to be the master of their own destiny in achieving academic success in nursing school.
In April 2020 I wrote a letter to nursing students for Nursing Centered dealing with the impacts of the pandemic. I wanted them to know that faculty and academic leaders heard their concerns and saw their fear. I come from a long line of strong women who are masters of resilience—and with every opportunity I have, I try to impart their wisdom to others, as it is often the key to my success in navigating challenging situations.
The letter was sincere, came from my heart, and had an impact I could have never anticipated. I received heartfelt emails from both faculty and students about how touched they were and how the strategies for controlling what you can control eased their anxiety so they could focus on placing one foot in front of the other and get back to the business of being a nursing student. While there were many emails that flooded in from students, one really touched me. It was from a student who simply said, “Thank you for making me feel seen and heard. I just needed to know that someone cared about me. I could actually feel that you truly care and that means more than you will ever know.”
As nurse educators, we are called to take our heart for service and guide nursing students. It is this heart for service that drives us to do everything in our power to ensure our students have the tools they need to be successful. I wanted to shout from the rooftop that day, “Of course we care about you!” but I decided it might be better to write a book instead.
I asked nurses around the country to name the struggles they had while they were in nursing school—financial, health, personal, racial, academic, or any other category they wanted to apply—and then craft a letter that began with the following phrase, “Dear nursing student, I am sorry to hear you are struggling. I remember being in your shoes.” I also asked them to share how they handled their struggles and the success they achieved. The letters were powerful and heartfelt from nurses who have been in the profession ranging from two months to 40 years! They filled me with tears, laughter, anger, and gratitude.
I’d like to share an excerpt from one of the many letters I received:
“Dear Nursing Student, I am sorry to hear you are struggling, I remember being in your shoes. My father died of cancer a few months before I was accepted into nursing school. I provided hospice care for him at home while he died. I say that he was my first patient. In class, on the one-year anniversary of my father’s death, I had a panic attack during a simple medication math quiz on conversions—material I knew. While I could not overcome the grief and anxiety that led me to fail that test, I did not let it define me. I talked to my professor, explained the situation, met with a therapist, and aced the exam when I took it again. I am not sharing this to make you sad; I want you to know things will be hard, but never give up on what you want! Ask for help from anyone who will listen, and if they can’t help you, find someone who can. I believe in YOU!” (author requested anonymity)
This book is based on the research I conducted on the positive impact of persistence and resilience and using pathway-thinking to build agency and lead students to academic success. It is not just a bunch of feel-good stories, but a reflective journal that students can build as they move through their nursing program to ensure they have the tools and skills necessary to succeed academically, personally, and professionally. If you feel compelled to contribute your story and words of wisdom, please feel free to contact me. I’d love to include you in the book!
The pandemic has presented us with challenges that no one could foresee. I am grateful to all my nursing colleagues, soon to be colleagues (current students!), and those that have graduated during the pandemic. I am in awe of your strength, tenacity, and resilience. We would not have made it this far without you!
Marianne Biangone, PhD, RN, PHN, is the director of the master’s-entry program in nursing at the University of California in San Francisco, California, USA. She is a member of Sigma’s Upsilon Theta Chapter at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.