UK Nursing COVID-19 series: Dr. Darlene Welsh on Student Resilience
In March 2021, we officially passed the one-year mark from when the pandemic hit the University of Kentucky and dramatically changed our way of life. We are taking this opportunity to look back at some of the standout stories and people in our UK College of Nursing community who stepped up and inspired us during tough times.
The below article was part of a COVID-19 feature series that was originally published in the 2020-21 Winter Edition of the UK College of Nursing's Engagement Magazine.
With only a few weeks left in the spring 2020 semester, the spread of COVID-19 looked like it had the potential to dash the dreams of thousands of soon-to-be nursing graduates.
Suddenly, hospitals across the country were no longer accepting student nurses for the clinical assignments they needed to graduate. Hospital administrators were pulling back due to concerns over limiting the spread of the virus, while some facilities lacked the personal protective equipment required.
Yet, at the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, all 116 students who planned to graduate in May were able to complete their required hours despite the challenges, says Darlene Welsh, PhD, MSN, RN, FNAP. Dr. Welsh is the assistant dean of BSN program studies.
“Every day the phone would ring,” she remembers, “and you’d think, ‘What’s going to happen today?’”
“There were the students who couldn’t get their clinical assignments at some of the hospitals. Meanwhile, about 10 percent of our students needed to quarantine for 14 days, either due to symptoms of coronavirus or because they were returning from spring break in other countries,” she says. “And in March, two of our students had National Guard assignments that took them away from Lexington.”
HELP FROM UNEXPECTED CORNERS
Yet, as some placements evaporated, other hospitals like UK HealthCare stepped up to provide new clinical opportunities for some students. For others, professors created assignments that could be completed from a distance.
Even the College’s dean stepped in, personally delivering materials to students at home.
It also helped that students were well prepared in advance of the COVID-19 shutdown, since UK requires students to complete 225 hours of assignments compared with the 120 hours required by the Kentucky Board of Nursing.
“There was a lot of sharing, a lot of cooperation and a real willingness to create something different,” Dr. Welsh says. “And we need to give the students a lot of credit for their resilience.”
Thanks to the combined efforts of students, faculty and staff, 100 percent of the May 2020 graduates passed the NCLEX (state nursing board exam) on their first attempt— an outstanding achievement even outside of a worldwide pandemic.
