A profile on Ms. Franc, a young labor and delivery nurse in Washington D.C. during the coronavirus pandemic.
*DISCLAIMER Subjects names were changed out of respect*
When Becca Franc, a 27-year-old recent graduate, decided to accept the job as a labor and delivery nurse at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, she never imagined having to work through a national pandemic within her first year on the job.
On a typical day, Franc can go from walking a mother through the delivery process to rushing a mother into emergency surgery. Unlike most, the pace of Franc’s daily life increased when the novel coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic.
Working as a first responder, Franc is used to working through unexpected changes.
“I will say it's just an ever-changing status, and I just have to learn how to roll with it,” she said.
In hopes to limit the spread of the coronavirus, hospitals have been forced to change their policies surrounding patient interactions. Lefranc explains how these changes are especially hard for some of her patients in labor and delivery.
“I just had a patient who found out that she was COVID positive by us testing her. She didn't have any symptoms, which is also one of the scary things about this virus. So, she's getting that news and then on top of it, she goes into delivery and can't even touch her baby afterwards,” she said.
The hospital was also forced to change its visitors’ policy. Patients in labor and delivery are only allowed one visitor who cannot leave the hospital until the patient is discharged.
“As a nurse, it makes it harder to accommodate both my patients and their visitor. When you think about nurses, we're playing so many roles and doing so many things,” she said.
As nurses around the nation share the difficulties of working through COVID-19, those closest to them worry about their mental health. Keren Franc, Becca’s 22-year-old sister, said she’s proud and happy her sister is helping families during these difficult times.
“She loves what she does, but I can see all of this is taking a toll on her,” she said
During these difficult cases, Becca Franc shared the mantra that keeps her motivated.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “I feel like I allowed fear to dissipate a while ago. If I operate in fear, I feel like that's not going to be helpful to me or to anyone that I'm serving, especially as a first responder.”
When she’s not at the hospital, Franc finds peace in keeping herself busy. She spends her time off working out and doing D.I.Y projects around her apartment. Franc has used social distancing as an opportunity to appreciate the little things in life.
“Even if we're all in the house, we're still living,” she said. “You know, obviously our versions of living was different a couple of months ago, but it doesn't mean we can't still breathe purpose, that doesn't mean we can't still have passion for things.”
*This piece was written for a class assignment*