Nicola Jones' story

Nicola Jones, Clinical Educator

"Due to the pandemic my role has changed a lot. I was previously a Clinical Educator in the Wellcome Short Stay unit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, but was redeployed to Critical Care during the first and second waves. By the X wave I was again redeployed into the vaccination hubs, and I have now been seconded to the Vaccination Education Programme as a Clinical Educator.

"I had never worked in critical care before during my nursing career. I attended a three hour lecture and then commenced my first shifts – three shifts working with an experienced Critical Care nurse. I then started working in the COVID-19 positive areas due to the rapid increase in admissions. I found this experience and environment totally overwhelming. Every shift was really hard and on many occasions I felt out of my depth. Things did improve for me once support teams were developed to help, and I had gained a clearer understanding of the equipment, the drugs and the care regimes and documentation.  

"Although my anxiety levels were always at a much heightened state, I did find the care I needed to give was carried out to the best of my ability and experience level. When I was able to work alongside a Critical Care nurse I felt very supported, and was able to work with much more confidence and felt less stressed.

"When I reflect on this time, I am proud that I adapted and worked in environments I had never worked in before, and probably would never have chosen to work in.

"However, if I am honest, I never want to work in Critical Care again. Thinking about this environment makes me very emotional and I do feel traumatised by the experience. It will take me time to overcome this experience and I still find it very challenging to talk about. I am, however, very proud of myself for getting up each day and going into work and caring for my patients to the best of my ability.

"Unfortunately, I caught COVID-19 during the first wave, and experienced Long Covid. Because of this, I was redeployed to a COVID-clear area of critical care where I gained more experience and felt much more supported.

"When the numbers of COVID-19 cases in critical care began to rise again, I was redeployed again to the vaccination hubs. I really enjoyed this role, and was able to gain new skills vaccinating, training and supporting in pharmacy. Through this redeployment I gained the experience to help me secure my secondment to the Vaccination Education Programme as a Clinical Educator.

"Despite the traumatic experiences I had at the beginning of the pandemic, there are some positives I can take from it. I, like my colleagues, have learnt to adapt under very stressful and unprecedented circumstances. I have gained skills that I never imagined I would, and have been able to gain new opportunities in my career that would never be possible if the pandemic had not happened.

"I was surprised at how resilient people can be, and how supportive people can be under pressure. I have met some amazing people during this pandemic."