COVID-19 Story 10_Western Australia
Judy Hitchcock, COINN Board Member, Western Australia 2020 The year of the Nurse and Midwife, celebrated officially on 12th May, was blighted by the knowledge that too many nurses have died after contracting the virus whilst providing care for COVID patients, and they continue to do so. The ICN is calling for all governments to accurately record […]
COVID-19 Story 9_Manchester, UK
Tracey Jones, The University of Manchester, UK How Covid 19 has affected education provision: A senior lecturer’s reflection: The consequences of the Covid 19 pandemic has been felt far and wide. Never before have we experienced the impact of such a global crisis reaching all areas of the world. In the United Kingdom the impact of […]
COVID-19 Story 8_Northern Ireland
Colm Darby, Northern IrelandWhen PPE stands for Preventing Portrayal of Emotions Due to the necessity of wearing personal protective equipment as routine uniform during the COVID pandemic, the only visual aspect of our identity that parents see is our name badge. Although our eyes are visible, the physical barrier of visors, goggles and masks create […]
COVID-19 Story 7_Auckland, New Zealand
Laura Moore, Registered Nurse, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Starship Children’s Health, Auckland, New Zealand COVID19 has meant a complete shift in how I work. As a neonatal nurse usually at the bedside (or incubator side!) I’ve found myself wandering through adult and paediatric wards, answering calls from nurses, doctors, cleaners, security and administration staff. From […]
COVID-19 Story 6_Stockholm, Sweden
Nicole Gustafsson Valderrama, New Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden Since the beginning of Covid-19 the routines about how to approach the parents if they are positive and/or have any related symptoms has changed a lot. Sometimes It feels like we have new routines each and every week which builds up a frustration because there is not […]
COVID-19 Story 5_Lisbon, Portugal
Joana Mendes, São Francisco Xavier Hospital, Lisbon, Portugal I am a NICU nurse since I left nursing school. It was my big and only passion. I work now for about 18 years with babies and families. My main areas of expertise are ethics and palliative care. When Covid-19 was spreading quickly in Europe, I was doing […]
COVID-19 Story 4_Cambridge, UK
Harriet Vickers, Neonatal Unit, Rosie Hospital, Cambridge UK I arrived for my night shift and as usual entered the unit through our reception, only to find a huge sign in place explaining how guidance from hospital chiefs stated that parents are no longer allowed on the unit. As parents are usually allowed unlimited access to the […]
COVID-19 Story 3_Spain
Dr Leticia Bazo-Hernández, Rovira I Virgili University, Spain Fortunately, natural selection, different immunological characteristics, among other assumptions, Sars-Cov-2 affects very few children, and those affected, seem only to be so in a slight way. Despite this, there have been cases of children with Covid-19 and, above all, neonates born to a mother with suspected or confirmed […]
COVID-19 Story 2_USA
Brittany Kyle, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, USA Written in March 2020: I am a NICU nurse and, as such, I am not on the front lines of this pandemic (yet). There is a lot of acknowledgement for healthcare workers, especially nurses, and I feel guilty for not being on the […]
COVID-19 Story 1_Sheffield, UK
Barbara Howard, The University of Sheffield, UK COVID-19 has certainly been a force for change in neonatal academia. Like a typhoon it has spun through our relatively ordered world, thrown everything in the air and left students and academics trying to guess where things will settle when this is all over. On the negative side I have […]