The COVID Cohort
Angela Acuna began her nursing studies in January. “We call ourselves the COVID cohort. I think we were the first ones to get hit hard from semester one,” she says.
With most nursing classes online this semester, Acuna misses the classroom and daily access to equipment. She takes competency exams throughout the semester and has had to find creative ways to demonstrate her ability to perform skills from home, where she lacks the supplies nurses use.
“I do give praise to the instructors, because this was quite a scramble for them, too, to implement online learning.”
Acuna counts herself fortunate to participate in clinical rotations, working closely with registered nurses at local hospitals. Each facility has its own protocol for protecting nurses and students from COVID infection.
As part of a rotation, Acuna was able to observe, from a distance, a cesarean section. “It was amazing to see the fluidity of that scene,” says Acuna, speaking of the way nurses and doctors moved around each other.