COVID Pandemic 2020-2021: Lest We Forget

By Cynthia Plonien DNP, RN, CENP

Lest we forget … the pandemic challenges that have occurred in nursing and in nursing leadership beginning in 2020 continue to this very day. Affected is the spirit as well as the physical aspects of being, touching the soul and the very essence of nursing.  

While the pandemic has subsided to a manageable level in many areas of Texas, the disaster continues for colleagues, patients and organizations in other areas. Below is an excerpt from an email to a professor by a grad student in nursing administration.  It is written through the lens of a nurse, nurse leader. The student attends an online nursing admin program located in Texas, residing and working out of state. Her story is one of value for knowing, and for remembering that the pain of the pandemic is not over for everyone. The note reflects feelings related to the pandemic and the experiences of nurses and nurse leaders across the world.

MSN Nursing Admin - Student E-mail:

”The pandemic has been a mess here in (my state), and our numbers are on the rise. I am an ER/trauma nurse and have been buried in this mess for nearly two years. This year alone, we have lost half of our ED staff, leaving us critically short-handed and overwhelmed in our work. Another problem we see is the change in people’s mindsets. Patients and their family members are angry, ill-tempered, aggressive, and overall, just different. We blame it on the fear that is being spread, but the reality is that we do not know the driving force of the mentality of our patient population. We have had more staff assaults than ever before. I am struggling to do everything I need to do to comply with mandatory overtime, being a single mom, and trying to get through school. I find myself wondering what other areas of nursing I might like, or where else to apply. I know everyone is struggling, but the ER is the front door to the hospital. My heart is not in my work anymore and I feel that separation – daily. I cannot keep track of how many patient deaths we have had now. Each one just makes you a little colder inside. The critically ill patients we have now are those who did not believe COVID was real, did not vaccinate, and want to fight you over a different diagnosis. At the beginning of the pandemic, we were in it for everyone, now we are working tirelessly to help those who are unwilling to help themselves. I have never had more of an internal struggle to find motivation in my work and a drive for what I do as a nurse. But shift after shift, we do the same thing, hoping in one way to make a difference somewhere. Lately, it does not feel that will happen for so many reasons. This is ER nursing in (my state) right now. I am wondering, how do we find the Why in nursing again? Nursing is painful almost as the pandemic has taken the best from within us.”