Interning in a Nursing Home During COVID-19: A Student's Resiliency

During my undergrad classes in the Speech Pathology and Audiology program, I realized that I wanted to work with the elderly population, but more on the business side. After graduating in May of 2020 with my Bachelor's in Speech Pathology and Audiology, I came across the Nursing Home Administration graduate certificate program and this is when I realized that this is what I wanted to do. One day I would like to be an administrator for a long-term care facility.

In the spring of 2020, it was difficult for me to switch from in-person classes to fully online because of COVID-19. It was hard to find the time, space, and motivation to

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work on my classes. When campus was open, I would work on my schoolwork in the library with my friends. The shutdown made that impossible to do. A few times during quarantine I would Facetime my friends and we would work on homework. This allowed us to have a similar feeling when we were all together on campus. During this time, all of my professors were very understanding of the circumstances that everyone was dealing with. They tried to make our zoom lectures as entertaining as possible. Some of them would quote the show “Tiger King” during the lecture to bring our attention back to the screen. To help with my time management, I would write everything down that I needed to complete for the week. This allowed me to see what assignments I had to complete. I would try to get everything done before the weekend.

One requirement for the nursing home administration graduate certificate program is a 1,000-hour internship. The internship has to be at a skilled long-term care facility. At first, I was a little hesitant to do my internship with everything in the news stating that nursing homes were the hotspot for coronavirus. After I thought about it, I thought it would be a great learning opportunity to see how nursing homes are handling the situation. When I visited Timberland Ridge in Fairlawn, the facility where I would be interning, I was put at ease. I saw all the safety precautions they were taking. They include medical masks, N-95s, face shields, gowns, and reminders of washing hands and sanitizing. They also required staff to be tested for COVID-19 twice a week and the residents once a week.

Timberland Ridge is a newer facility that opened during the spring of 2020. I thought this would also be a great learning opportunity to see a new building start to establish. I started my internship in the beginning of January 2021, and I will complete it by August 2021. My preceptor is also an alum of the program, Max Agee. At the end of my internship, I will take an exam that would allow me to become a licensed nursing home administrator.

For my internship, I am required to work in every aspect of the building. This includes but is not limited to housekeeping, admissions, human resources, social services, maintenance, and medical

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records. So far, I have worked in housekeeping and as a receptionist. One difficulty of being a receptionist during this time is explaining to family members our visitation guidelines. Right now, there are four visitation days with 30-minute time slots. The family and resident must remain in the lobby with all the PPE and must remain at least 6 feet apart. It’s hard explaining to the residents why they have to stay 6 feet apart and to keep the PPE on. Another difficulty is not knowing how long indoor visitations will last. The families can do window visits and schedule video calls. There are some difficulties of being a housekeeper during a pandemic. Some of the difficulties include wearing the gown, mask, and face shield or goggles with glasses while cleaning. I am all for PPE, but it’s hard when you are constantly cleaning for eight hours. One way I overcame this difficulty is by taking a few breaks and stepping outside. This allowed me to cool off and continue working. I also bought personal prescription goggles. This helped tremendously.

Having an internship during a pandemic has its difficulties but once this is all over, it will be worth it. I have learned so much already and it has only been two months. I am looking forward to learning more over the next few months. 

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Written by Katelynn Ridenour, a graduate student in the Nursing Home Administration Graduate Certifiicate program