University of Detroit Mercy issued the following announcement on April 16.
Members of the University of Detroit Mercy Community are stepping up in different ways to combat the COVID-19 crisis. We are sharing their stories here. If you have something to contribute, please contact marcom@udmercy.edu.
Volunteering at COVID-19 testing sites
Former men's lacrosse standout Jamie Hebden '13 is a third-year medical student at Michigan State in the College of Osteopathic and has been volunteering his time by helping administer nasal swabs for the city at the Michigan State Fairgrounds.
He said he's willing to do whatever it takes to help out with the global pandemic.
"Everyone's pulling together and pulling resources and everyone's helped each other out," Hebden said. "It's definitely eye-opening to have a mass testing of a country for a disease.”
Hebden, who is on break from his medical rotations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, wants to eventually get into emergency medicine and is set to start applying for residency positions in September, depending on the timeframe of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
"I know there's a shortage of health care workers out here, so who knows what could happen," Hebden said. "Right now, we are scheduled to start my next rotations in the ER on April 20, but it's really up in the air depending on if we have enough PPE for everyone and if there's still a shortage in the United States. If we are needed elsewhere, we could help out with other initiatives throughout the state.
"I know everyone is out there during this time, working hard and trying to do their best," he said. "If you could donate to any hospital or health care organization during this time, healthcare workers in hospitals would greatly appreciate it.”
‘We have to stay positive in this very tough situation’
Updated 9:45 a.m., April 17
Joyce Wilson-Eder never let her busy life get in the way of staying upbeat. She is even more swamped these days during the COVID-19 crisis, but that hasn’t stopped her from bringing the power of positivity to everything she does as both a nurse and graduate student at Detroit Mercy.
“We have to stay positive in this very tough situation,” Wilson-Eder said. “With all of the bad news we see on television, I want people to know we have nurses, respiratory therapists, first-line responders, all of them doing great things in very troubled times. To witness it is truly amazing.”
Wilson-Eder works as a staff nurse at University of Michigan Hospital and an agency nurse at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor and Chelsea, and she’s in her second year of graduate school in Detroit Mercy’s Family Nurse Practitioner program.
“It helps with mental health because our work is very demanding,” Wilson-Eder said of staying positive. “But we signed up for this. We all know that, and we appreciate the art and nature of nursing. We want to help and see people heal.”
Wilson-Eder believes making someone smile can go a long way, even in very stressful situations, like caring for COVID-19 patients.
“I try to inject humor into our work,” Wilson-Eder said. “Sometimes just wearing the gowns and the masks, we’re all just sweating under all of this stuff so I’ll say, ‘Hey, we’re going to come out of this 10 pounds lighter.’”
She also takes time to marvel as her co-workers step up in so many ways to help people.
“I see them holding up the phone for the patients who can’t have visitors so they can talk or hear from family members,” Wilson-Eder said. “You should see some of these nurses just going that extra mile. The respiratory therapists that are doing those extra things to make the patients feel like they’re not alone. That’s what’s so positive about what everyone’s doing.”
Wilson-Eder also smiles when she thinks about the camaraderie she has built with her co-workers, who know they can rely on each other.
“I feel rather than focus on some of the negative things we see, let’s just talk about how we’re going to keep each other healthy,” Wilson-Eder said. “It’s like, ‘I’ve got your back. You’ve got mine.’ Just making sure we’re safe when we’re putting on our personal protective equipment, ‘Hey, it doesn’t look like you got a good fit.’ We’re adjusting and making sure we’re all safe.”
The Family Nurse Practitioner program at Detroit Mercy has moved exclusively online. Wilson-Eder is in the part-time program because she works full time and is finishing up the second of her three years. She acknowledged having classes online is different and there was an adjustment period, but she’s also enjoying it.
“It’s a new way of thinking and I have confidence in the faculty, they are doing the best job that they can in some very unusual circumstances,” Wilson-Eder said. “They’re doing a fantastic job keeping the content interesting and engaging.
“My classmates utilize Collaborate and Zoom meetings to try to touch base with each other, and make sure we have that connection because we’re all going to graduate together next year. We have to stick together and get through this program. It’s a very rigorous program.”
Wilson-Eder’s goal after graduation is to work in primary care.
“I’ve spent so many years in ER and critical care that it’s time for me to dial back and go into my first love, which is primary care,” Wilson-Eder said. “And I would like to return to the city of Detroit and offer my services there.”
Original source can be found here.
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