While most Canberrans have being doing our part by staying at home during this COVID-19 outbreak, our frontline healthcare workers have been tirelessly working to protect and care for our community.
Canberra Daily spoke to several of them – two nurses, a doctor, a scientist, and a pharmacist โ who revealed what their hardest days look like, how they keep their spirits up, and their messages of gratitude.
Receiving the news that Coronavirus had made its way into the community for a second time was devastating news for every Canberran, but for Molecular Scientist at ACT Pathology Maxine Wendt, itโs a day etched forever in her memory.
โSometimes I feel a bit guilty because the first case for our outbreak this year was one I found on my morning run, so this lockdown happened after I found that case. But we knew it was going to happen at some point,โ she said.
According to Ms Wendt, the hardest aspect of her job is having to leave the lab for the day when there are swabs still waiting to be tested. While she loves getting all the work done and finished, thereโs only so much she can physically do in a day.
โIโm committed to my job and Iโm happy to be helping the cause. Myself and my fellow scientists have gone from struggling to do about 1,500 samples a day to doing 4,000 [one day] the other week, which is a challenge, but we get it done,โ she said.
Dr Ashwin Swaminathan, Infectious Diseases Clinician and Clinical Director for Medicine at The Canberra Hospital (TCH), said although itโs been challenging, heโs also found it to be an exciting time for medicine.
โClearly thereโs been challenging times โ long hours and the long duration of the pandemic โ but thereโs been a lot of opportunities for increased collaboration and new models of care, which has been a real positive,โ he said.
After a hard day at the hospital, Dr Swaminathanโs light at the end of the tunnel is his family.
โI love going home and unwinding with the kids; I have a five-year-old and a three-year-old. Just being part of the non-COVID world for a bit helps after a hard day,โ he said, his eyes smiling above his face mask.
In future when this pandemic is long behind us, Dr Swaminathan said heโll look back on his work with pride.
โI think even as weโre going through it now, it does feel like a huge, seismic event that we will be reflecting on for a long time โ the rest of our careers. I think weโll look back on our work with pride,โ Dr Swaminathan said.
โWeโre all going through having to put on PPE, the long hours, the sick patients, but I think the sense that weโre a team and weโre doing this together has been really useful, but also just having a laugh with each other has helped kept the morale up.โ
For Sheridan Dobing, Canberra Hospitalโs Clinical Nurse Coordinator now working as a vaccination nurse at the AIS Arena mass vaccination clinic, working during the pandemic has been a mixed bag of emotions.
โItโs been rewarding but also overwhelming. Being able to give back to the community and help out has been that rewarding aspect, but also really overwhelming having to adapt and respond to such an everchanging world,โ Ms Dobing said.
โTreating people with COVID and being around COVID has an element of feeling overwhelmed because it is so new to us, and the way we have to treat and manage people is very different.โ
The messages of thanks from the Canberra community have made her smile and have never failed to brighten her day.
โWeโve had patients come in and give us chocolates and little cards, so weโve been really well supported and thanked from the community. We donโt do it for thanks, but itโs so nice!โ she said.
COVID Clinic Pharmacist at the AIS vaccination centre and leader of the production team, Brenda Lee, has found it hard to adapt to the changes but said being part of a great team is what helps get her through.
โItโs been up and downโฆ Itโs been crazy actually; I donโt really know how to describe it. Itโs definitely been a journey,โ Ms Lee said.
โItโs cool to be part of the vaccination team during this pandemic and, after itโs all over, Iโll feel really proud of myself. It will be great to be able to tell the next generation that I contributed to the community.โ
With around 11 years of experience in infection control, Clinical Nurse Consultant Kimberley Phelan is currently working at the COVID testing site at TCH, and said itโs been humbling seeing the hospital rally together to do their best to care for all patients.
โThe Canberra community has really pulled together to get us out of this. We should be incredibly proud of our vaccination rates and no challenge is too big; weโve demonstrated that and hopefully weโre coming out on the other side of it now,โ Ms Phelan said.
โJust stay strong, stay supportive, and have hope.โ
Get all the latest Canberra news, sport, entertainment, lifestyle, competitions and more delivered straight to your inbox with the Canberra Daily Daily Newsletter. Sign up here.
