The medical personnel who are in the forefront of the battle against coronavirus carry a greater risk as chances of getting infected are high. Moreover, working in COVID-19 hospitals, treating patients in the ICU and helping them to come to terms with a life completely changed, is an altogether new ball game for them.
Thirty-year-old Sowmya Basanthi, a staff nurse working at the Government General Hospital, Guntur, has been on duty for the last 30 days and for the past two weeks, she has been serving at the COVID Intensive Care Unit.
Unusual experience
For Ms. Basanthi this is an unusual experience trying to balance the family, nursing a three-year-old daughter and working in six-hour shifts daily at the ICU. She gets support from her husband, a PH.D scholar, and her in-laws.
"Along with other nurses, I started duties on March 23. After the initial training sessions, we were allotted duties and life has never been the same again. Though we have been following the medical protocol since swine flu outbreak, wearing masks, PPE kits and gloves, the COVID protocol is different. Personally, I began to take precautions by keeping all my keys and personal belongings in a separate bag, washing myself and sanitising all our belongings. Since I have a small child, I took extra precautions," says Ms. Basanthi. She works from 8 am to 2 pm.
