St. Clair College nursing students Ryanne Mallette and Hannah Wiggins are stepping onto the front lines in the battle against COVID-19 as vaccination ramps up and testing remains critical.
Mallette is one of four Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) students at the College's Chatham campus who have been hired by the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance to work at its COVID-19 assessment centre.
Wiggins and another College BScN student are working for Erie Shores HealthCare on teams responding to COVID-19 related emergencies in the community. Wiggins is with a team currently stationed at the temporary homeless shelter in Windsor’s downtown aquatic centre, testing and immunizing those who are staying there.
After only three shifts assessing and directing shelter users for testing, the fourth-year student said she is considering a career in public health.
“I really like interacting with these people,” she said.
The Leamington hospital is employing nursing students like Wiggins to work with COVID response and stabilization teams made up of paramedics, nurses and workers from partner agencies.
The teams, which go where they’re needed in Essex County, were first deployed in June 2020 to do COVID testing and health assessments of temporary foreign workers employed in the greenhouse industry.
Most are currently assisting with the rollout of COVID vaccines, said Kristin Kennedy, CEO of Erie Shores HealthCare. In the past three months, they’ve taken over 9,800 COVID swabs for testing and done health assessments of more than 1,220 people who tested positive.
Erie Shores is planning to hire more nursing students to bolster the teams in the coming weeks, Kennedy said. “I think it’s commendable the work these students are taking on.”
They are beginning their careers in a crisis.
“It’s good experience for a nursing student to put this on their resume, but mostly I’m really grateful that I can help out during COVID,” Wiggins said.
Mallette, who is also in her fourth year, said she was initially nervous about being exposed to the virus at the COVID assessment the Chatham-Kent hospital has in the College’s HealthPlex on Grand Avenue West.
But that fear evaporated during her first shift in February, when she donned protective gear and saw how diligently cleaning is done, she said.
Performing the uncomfortable nasal pharyngeal swabs is an art, but she has learned the key is to keep patients calm.
“The role isn’t just swabbing,” said Linda Butler, vascular health co-ordinator and assessment centre lead for the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. “They’re doing a lot of communicating with the patients. Patients don’t want to be there because it’s not comfortable. A lot of people are quite fearful.... There are a lot of people who are there regularly who are just tired of it.
“(The nursing students) also have to use their computer skills. They have to be very organized, getting the right swab and the right sticker on the swab.”
There are currently an average of 250 people a day going through the assessment centre, which opened Oct. 5 and runs seven days a week, Butler said.
Bringing in the student nurses has allowed some registered practical nurses to return to the hospital, she said.
“If you’d asked four years ago,” Mallette said, “I never would have thought this would be my last year of nursing school and this would be the job I’m doing, but I’m grateful for the opportunity.... I’m also just grateful for everyone on the front line doing their part. It’s a tough battle we’re fighting right now.”
