What’s your perception of the overall mood of your co-workers/ first responders, and has it changed over the course of the pandemic?
1). Initially there was uncertainty as not much was known, but what was very clear was that people were afraid for their families and themselves. Staff then put on a brave front and stepped into the unknown.
When the COVID pandemic hit Tulsa, and through the process to date, how has it shaped your reality? How are you handling the reality that you could be exposed/infected at work?
2) We’ve adapted to a changing world of cautionary distance meetings and plans that change rapidly. Of looking past a mask, into a person’s eyes and actually listening to what’s not being said along with what is. The reality is any of us could be infected, front line or otherwise.
How did your family take it knowing you were on the frontlines of a pandemic? How do you handle that with them?
3) My family knows. Precautions at home have become the norm. One family member thanked me for being on the front line, stating that it felt like each morning that I left he had to set his mind that I was knowingly going into a war and that I could become a casualty, but that he knew I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s the day like – what things about the impact of this pandemic on Tulsa are you seeing that we can’t see at home? (for example, human behavior)
4) People are getting mixed messages. One message from the governmental leadership(not local) and another from medical. As the pandemic continues there are a lot of people not wearing masks and going about as if this is all made up.
Your own Mental health – how is it impacting you? What do you do for self care – how are you taking care of yourself/ your mental, physical and spiritual?
5) I never dreamed in my 30 plus years as a nurse that I would see anything like this. I think about others more than myself, I’m not afraid for myself. I sit outside and listen to nature and read to take my mind off the way things currently are.
What is (are) the biggest challenge(s) that you do not face under normal conditions?
6)My biggest challenge is that I am a hugger by nature. I’ve had to adapt the way that I say hi and bye.
What are you learning from this experience that may change the way you respond in the future?
7) I’ve learned that the nation as a whole wasn’t ready. Thankfully Morton put a daily task force together and it’s been invaluable.
What has Tulsa County/City as a government or as a community has done well, and is there anything you think they could have done better?
8) TAEMA and the Tulsa Health Department have been phenomenal throughout this whole process.
