“On the Bleeding Edge of a Global Health Crisis”
LSU Health New Orleans Nursing Students Working on the Front Lines
Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services
LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing faculty received the following message from
one of their students who, along with about a dozen others, is responding to the COVID-19
crisis in Louisiana.
Since their clinical education was put on hold because of the outbreak, they have
been working as nurse techs in hospitals hit hard by rapidly increasing numbers of
patients with or suspected of having COVID-19. He wrote the message because he wanted
the school to see what he sees in his young classmates. He asked us not to use his
name because he said this isn't about him --he feels like he is standing on the shoulders
of giants -- so we'll just call him “Nate.” Get your handkerchief ready before you
read his eloquent, stirring words.
“I wanted to take a minute to tell you about what some of your students are doing
during this unplanned interruption of the academic year. Since we stopped attending
class on campus, I have been working quite a few hours as a tech in a local Emergency
Room. We were busy and shorthanded before the pandemic began, and that situation has
only worsened. We see at least a two-dozen suspected Covid-19 patients a day who require
full isolation precautions, in addition to the patient load that already existed.
What I see in that ER every day or night when I go into work is tired staff, supply
shortages, very sick people and your students.
“Your students are in that ER working with zeal and resolve, with compassion and competency,
and with dedication. I have spent the better part of my life leading young men on
battlefields, and what I am seeing from your students, my classmates, is on par with
what I saw there regarding young people defying expectations.
“I have seen your students told that housekeeping was shorthanded because, out of
fear, the bulk of the shift had called out of work. Because of that, they wouldn't
be taking care of patients, but instead would spend their shift doing the dirty, dangerous,
and tiring job of terminal cleaning the isolation rooms, over and over and over. The
students took on this task without a complaint or without letting pride interfere
with duty.
“I have seen your students manage up and approach charge nurses and physicians to
tell them they had discovered a critical task that needed to be completed and they
had already gotten it done rather than wait around to be told to do so. They are working
tirelessly with minimal supervision and without being prompted or directed.
“I watched your students teach experienced nurses who were floated to the ER about
ventilator settings and how to manage a Propofol drip in relation to a patient's blood
pressure. I have watched LSU Nursing students provide confident, compassionate comfort
to patients staring down a terrifying illness that is largely unknown to them, and
I have seen students help pick up their colleagues by showing up with a positive attitude
and an esprit de corps that raises the spirits of the entire staff.
“I am blown away by these kids. I don't think any of them anticipated being on the
bleeding edge of a global health crisis when they began their studies at LSU Health
New Orleans. But here they are, and the community is better off for it. I don't know
what can be done to recognize the excellence of the students, but whatever it is,
it should be done. In a past life, I'd have written an award for each and every one
of them. I don't impress easily and what these young ladies, and I am sure young men,
are doing in New Orleans and in Hammond, in Baton Rouge, in Lafayette and who knows
where else, is impressive as hell.
“Before I close out what is a way longer message than I intended, I would like to
express a concern. I worry about the emotional well-being of these students when this
is all over. I was 22 years old when I parachuted into the Afghan night to seize an
airfield. I was too young and too naïve to know that what I was doing was hard and
would take its toll on me. I was lucky that my Regiment and my leadership were thinking
of that for me and were ready when it was all over. None of us know how long this
thing will last, but I think it's abundantly clear the worst is yet to come. Some
of these students are about to get a front-row seat to a level of human despair and
suffering that they didn't know they needed to prepare themselves for, and it worries
me. I don't know what the School can do, or is obligated to do, but please be ready
to handle with care when your students get handed back to you. Your kids have gone
out into their community in its darkest hour and been a light that everybody needed. I
am proud of them, and you should be as well.”
Demetrius Porche, DNS, PhD, ANEF, FACHE, FAANP, FAAN, Professor and Dean of LSU Health
New Orleans School of Nursing says, “Our students are the best of the best. We are
very proud, but not surprised that they stepped up to do all they can to support the
care of patients with COVID-19 and their professional colleagues. We have resources
in place to help them process the magnitude of the public health crisis devastating
their community.”