Virginia Nurses Today - August 2020

Page 18 | August, September, October 2020
Virginia Nurses Today | www.VirginiaNurses.com
CVS MinuteClinic Nurse Practitioners Talk COVID-19 and Nursing
Marie Kaufmann
MSN, FNP, AMSN
Many COVID-19 narratives focus solely on hospital settings, and nurses
know that the pandemic has impacted all practice settings. VNA recently
reached out to two CVS MinuteClinic nurse practitioners to hear about how the
pandemic has affected their personal and professional lives. MinuteClinic is a
division of CVS Health that provides retail clinic services with more than 1,100
locations in 33 states. Read on to hear what these nurses had to say.
Marie Kaufmann, MSN, FNP, AMSN has been in healthcare for 10 years,
practicing as a registered nurse for six years, and as a nurse practitioner for the
past year. In her nursing career she has worked in various settings including
dialysis, rehab and an observation unit. Kaufmann has worn various hats as a
staff nurse, admissions nurse, and a nursing supervisor. She is excited to now
be a nurse practitioner and to continue to learn and grow in her nursing career.
“I have always been very proud to be a nurse,” notes Kauffmann. “Nothing
makes me happier than seeing the dedication, love, and empathy shown by
my colleagues throughout the world. COVID-19 has opened the doors for
us to no longer be constrained by state or even country borders, but to be a
profession that makes itself known around the world as the face of strength and
compassion in remarkable times.”
Most of Kauffmann’s experiences with COVID-19 have been with patients who
are scared and are having difficulty finding healthcare. She is incredibly happy
that the doors at MinuteClinic have been open during this time to be able to
continue serving the community. As doctors offices begin to reopen, she notes
that she is excited to be able to shift her focus to overseeing several COVID
testing sites. In the early days of the pandemic, it was extremely frustrating for
NURSES MONTH
SPOTLIGHT
Britton Balzhiser
MSN, FNP-C
her to not be able to get the testing she wanted for her patients. Now she’s proud
to be part of bringing quick and easy testing to the community!
While most nurses who enter the profession see it more as a calling than a
career, that doesn’t mean it can’t be incredibly difficult to manage sometimes.
Nurse burnout was a front and center issue before the pandemic and now
more than ever, there’s a serious push to make sure nurses are taking care of
themselves and maintaining a work/life balance.
“I maintain my moral resilience by remembering that the best way to take
care of others is to take care of myself first,” Kauffmann said. “I take time
everyday to have a quiet moment to calm my mind and breathe. Sometimes this
is 15 minutes of yoga, sometimes it’s a 15-minute walk outside, and sometimes
it’s just standing in a hot shower at the end of a long day, taking deep breaths
and letting it go. I also make a point to face my fears and anxieties. A lot of
times as nurses we like to suppress our emotions so that we can keep going.
This is very unhealthy and those emotions tend to leak out in other parts of our
lives when we least expect them. If you find yourself bottling up your emotions,
it’s time to find someone to talk to. Many companies offer access to free therapy
sessions and it is 100% worth it.”
COVID-19 brought to the forefront the very real mental trauma that nurses
and health professionals can experience as a result of their work. The day in,
day out stress of being so close to danger and risking one’s own health and
those that are closest to them takes a heavy toll. The lack of control nurses have
over their own environment was clear as they witnessed colleagues being put
into unsafe situations with a lack of personal protective equipment.
“I think the events of the past few months will help nurses push to have a
stronger voice in healthcare, workplaces, and within communities,” Kauffmann
said. “Nurses’ services are invaluable, they are proud of the work they do, and
should have a leading part in shaping healthcare.”
Accurate information regarding COVID-19 has been difficult for some to
discern with so many states taking different approaches to quarantines and the
24 hour news cycle constantly spitting out information.
“Things will start being less restrictive, but we should not throw away the
lessons learned. As flu season approaches and colds start popping up in the
fall, the importance of staying home if you’re feeling sick can not be emphasized
enough,” Kauffman stressed. “Continued good hand washing is going to be a top
priority in keeping our communities safe. We may even start seeing masks out
more regularly in the public setting, especially during flu and cold season. We
will not go back to the pre- COVID-19 normal, but we will see a new normal that
will help keep our society healthier.”
Kauffmann finished by stating, “despite COVID-19 bringing the world to its
knees, nurses are going to be there to carry the world forward to a healthier
tomorrow with a smile on their faces.”
Britton Balzhiser, MSN, FNP-C has worked as a nurse practitioner with CVS
MinuteClinic for four years. She currently treats walk-in patients with a variety
of illnesses and oversees several drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites.
“I have always loved being a nurse, but witnessing the strength and resilience
of my colleagues during this pandemic has reinforced my immense pride for my
chosen profession,” Balzhiser said. “Whether in the ICU or in a small walk-in
clinic, we have all done our part to keep our patients healthy and I am honored
to work alongside my fellow nurses.”
Nurses are a close-knit group and Balzhiser says working through COVID-19
has further strengthened the bond she has with her colleagues. They support
each other, whether through providing assistance with a heavy workload, or
just lending an ear to listen. “I don’t know what I would do without my nursing
family,” Balzhiser admitted.
One of her key roles as a nurse practitioner is to be a reassuring presence for
her patients in times of uncertainty and distress. After an unexpected exposure
to COVID-19, she found herself in the reverse position as a patient, anxious for
what her own test results would show. Balzhiser said this experience gave her a
new viewpoint and a renewed empathy for the fear and worry that her patients
encounter.
COVID-19 has brought a new type of public awareness and appreciation for
the vital role that nurses and nurse practitioners play in the healthcare system.
Many state governments have created emergency action plans which expand
the NP scope of practice and highlight the essential services provided by the
profession. Balzhiser says the pandemic has also led to innovative strategies
aimed at reducing infection risks while continuing to provide essential patient
care, something that is particularly seen with the expansion of telemedicine like
MinuteClinic’s e-visits.
“States are beginning to reduce restrictions but this does not mean that
COVID-19 has been defeated,” Balzhiser cautioned. “COVID-19 doesn’t care
about your political views or that you are tired of being in quarantine. It is
not going to go away just because the pandemic is old news. We must all unite
together if we are to ever see an end to the virus. The only way we can truly
contain this virus is to remain vigilant in our precautions, continue to wear
masks in public, wash hands frequently, stay home when ill and maintain
recommended social distancing.”
Balzhiser believes that all nurses followed a calling to help people when they
entered the profession. “Even though our training technically prepared us for
a pandemic, living and working through the reality of COVID-19 is frightening
and quite different from a theoretical concept. I am so impressed with how we
as nurses and NPs have all risen to the challenge presented by this virus. We
continue to choose to go into work each day despite the very real risks we now
face.”
Every nurse deserves a huge and humble thank you. VNA will continue
to feature different COVID-19 narratives in Virginia Nurses Today. If you or
someone you know has a unique story that can be shared, please reach out to
VNA Communications Coordinator Elle Buck at ebuck@virginianurses.com.
We also encourage you to submit a friend, colleague, or family member to our
COVID-19 specific Healthcare Heroes campaign. Submissions can be made at:
https://tinyurl.com/VNAHealthcareHeroes.