After a 20-minute tutorial,
she found herself triaging
patients and deciding who
should be sent to the testing
tent. "It was a lot of pressure,
and the tent was very intimi-
dating," says Ms. Dyer. "You
watch videos about what it
will be like, but that doesn't
fully prepare you for the real-
ity of the situation."
In the tent, Ms. Dyer was
forced to wear the same N95
for three weeks because the
hospital didn't stock her size.
She was hyperaware of what
she touched and how she
could best protect patients.
For the first time in her
career, she didn't change her PPE between patient interactions. She'd
don new gloves, but wore the same face shield, mask and bright yel-
low gown. It was an unsettling feeling. "As an operating room nurse, it
was made we sick to my stomach," says Ms. Dyer. "We're consistent
with sterile technique and proper use of PPE. I had to change my
mindset."
The layers of protective equipment created an emotional separation
between Ms. Dyer and her patients. "I'm trained to touch patients to ease
their anxieties," she explains. "Not being able to do that was awful. As a
nurse, it was embarrassing."
Ms. Dyer says working in unfamiliar patient care areas has taken a
M A Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 1
• GEARED UP Staff members at New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley
Children's Hospital suit up to care for patients in the ICU unit.
