STAYING SAFE
ECU students set to return to campus during COVID-19 pandemic – again
In the coming days, thousands of East Carolina University students will officially return to campus and in-person instruction for the first time since COVID-19 caused the university to shift to online instruction in March.
This is not the first time the university has welcomed students back during this pandemic, however.
ECU’s Division of Health Sciences has had students and faculty back in classrooms and clinical areas for more than a month.
“We’ve been back in for five weeks. We’re doing great, feeling safe and feeling supported by our administration,” said Tyler Powell, a fourth-year medical student at the Brody School of Medicine, who returned to clinical instruction at Vidant Medical Center in early June.
“I was a little bit nervous at first, even having been in the clinical space for a year already, it was almost like starting over because we didn’t know what to expect when we walked in,” said Powell, a LINC Scholar. “But it’s been great. We’ve been welcomed back. It’s been a great learning opportunity and a great opportunity to serve patients here in eastern North Carolina.”
Students from the College of Nursing’s Nurse Anesthesia doctoral program were the first health sciences students to return to instructional spaces in late May.
“We were excited to come back and happy that we’ve been given the opportunity to continue our education,” said John Purvis, a two-time ECU graduate who is now entering his second year in the Nurse Anesthesia program. “We’ve been blessed to be able to have some great leadership here on campus. They’ve laid out a plan in which we feel that we can come back to school safely, which we believe works and if we can follow it, we will be successful.”
The nursing students returned for clinical application scenarios and certification exams, though the learning environment they returned to was definitely different than the one they left in March.
“We had some labs over the summer that were important for us, but they were done a little differently. They broke us down into different groups and we came in during different time slots so we could socially distance and stay safe,” Purvis said. “I felt comfortable coming back because I think that everybody realized they had an obligation to each other … to follow the guidelines that have been set out – hand hygiene, social distancing, wearing a mask and taking accountability in knowing that you might not be sick, but that you can carry the disease, so you have to be responsible.”
Students were not the only ones to return to the Health Sciences Campus.
“Our D4 students started reporting back on June 29, but our faculty and residency programs have actually been here – treating patients in emergency situations – all summer long,” said Dr. Loren Alves, a clinical associate professor at the School of Dental Medicine’s Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics.
“I wasn’t nervous, being here was our job,” Alves added. “We have been preparing for this a long time and one way that we’re doing that is in terms of our PPE (personal protective equipment). When patients or students come in, and see that we’re in the proper equipment, they’re aware that we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe. And now what we’re asking you to do, is do everything you can to help prevent the potential spread to others – and part of that is wearing a mask.”
Alves said in order for in-person instruction to be safe and successful this semester, it will take a TEAM (“Together Everyone Achieves More”) approach.
“You can’t do it if people are half-stepping – where some are doing their part, and some aren’t,” he said. “In order to achieve what we want to achieve this semester we can’t have a slipup … And the only way to avoid that is to be in compliance, and it’s not hard to do that for your neighbor or your classmate.”
Powell said the challenges of returning to campus during the COVID-19 pandemic also presents an opportunity to be seized.
“This is obviously a very unique time to be a learner, to be in college and to be on campus,” she said. “I would encourage everybody to take advantage of that, learn from it and learn what we can do to protect each other. Be a good citizen, be a good citizen of Greenville and really do your part to keep our community safe.”
Jordan Jackson, a Nurse Anesthesia doctoral program student, said many of the health sciences students felt like it was their duty to return to their coursework safely and follow the university’s guidelines to ensure continued forward progression.
“As health sciences students, if we were in working professions right now, we would not be working from home. It’s an impossible profession to work from home. So, in order to get to where we need to be for our profession, we’ve got to be here in person – in the clinical scenarios, as well as the classroom,” she said. “I just think it’s a social responsibility and it’s an easy thing to do. All we have to do is wash our hands, wear a mask and socially distance – it could be a lot worse.”
Now, Jackson says she hopes that sense of duty will spread to the rest of Pirate Nation.
“For those students coming back to campus, if you’re hesitant at all – it’s OK, it’s normal – but know that’s it’s been done and it’s been done well,” she said. “There are guidelines in place and if you stick to those guidelines, we’re all going to be safe and healthy Pirates.”