Nurse Kandace Williams was sympathetic when she saw how heartbreaking it was for family members unable to be at the bedside of loved ones hospitalized with COVID-19.
But deeper understanding came when she found herself in the same position.
“That’s when I really and truly saw how much they suffer in this pandemic,” she said.
Kandace was working as a registered nurse in the medical intensive care unit at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas when her mother was admitted to a hospital in New York due to COVID-related complications. Kandace flew to New York, but being only a mile from the hospital made no difference. Kandace was not allowed into her mother’s room.
“I had to wait on phone calls and release all control of my mom to someone I had never met,” she said. “Although I’m in the healthcare field and understood what was going on, I still felt so helpless.”
Her mother is back home now, but the experience inspired Kandace to help other families in the same position.
Kandace is working toward a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Arkansas’ Eleanor Mann School of Nursing. In response to this challenging experience, she created a COVID ICU Communication Guide for families.
The communication guide includes information that family members really need to know about, such as terms they’ll be hearing, how to communicate with the hospital staff, and expectations regarding treatment. The guide also serves as a journal of sorts, enabling family members to add daily updates, jot down questions to ask nurses, and express their feelings. The guide also simplifies medical jargon that nurses may use when they share updates about COVID patients with family.
“The goal of this guide is to improve communication and decrease stress families feel when they can’t be at the bedside,” she said. “I know this can’t replace them being directly in the room, but I am hoping this gives them a sense of control, helps them monitor the overall progress of the patient, and offers them a place to put their true feelings as they come up.”
The COVID communication guide will be available to families at the hospital where Kandace works by the end of January. If it’s successful, she plans to share the guide with other hospitals.
Kandace is thrilled her work at the U of A will have practical implications for patient families — as well as fellow nurses — during such a difficult time in the profession.
Kandace became interested healthcare when her stepfather became gravely ill due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She began helping a home health nurse take care of him. She also took over when the nurse wasn’t available or when her mom was at work.
“I changed my dad’s oxygen tanks, made him food, washed his clothes when my mom couldn’t, and so many other things,” she said. “I loved it and was heartbroken when he passed away in 2001. I lost the man who showed me what it was really like to be loved unconditionally, and I lost the ability to care so much for someone without any expectations.”
Kandace decided to pursue a D.N.P. degree so she could take on leadership roles in the future and practice at the highest clinical level as a nurse. She wants to focus care on the health and wellness of the whole patient rather than just disease processes.
“I want nothing more than to play a role in revolutionizing our current healthcare system to improve patient experiences,” she said.
Kandace added, “When choosing this route, I wanted to go as far as possible in my education to prove to myself — and everyone who might look up to me — that you don’t have to allow your past to define your future. I might have come from a very low-income family with a lot of challenges, but that didn’t stop me from accomplishing my dreams.”
When Kandace chose the U of A, she was traveling often and wanted to find a high-quality online program that fit into her busy lifestyle.
“The U of A gave me the ability to live life and still conquer this journey,” she said. “I researched the school and saw nothing but positive feedback from current students and alumni.
“During my interview, I knew this was the school for me. The staff was interested in my resume, but they were more interested in me and who I was. They were so personable and genuine.”
