The Strength of Healthcare Workers with Georgia Scholl
Written by Julianna Bonnett
With around 659,000 cases of Covid-19 in Canada alone, the pandemic has taken a toll on many people’s lives, especially frontline workers. Doctors, nurses, retail workers, teachers, and many have been affected by the virus, not only physically, but mentally as well.
It has been almost a year since the virus struck the Windsor area, changing the landscape of how we operate in our everyday lives, and affecting many health care professional’s work lives, including Registered Nurse, Georgia Scholl.
Scholl attended the University of Windsor and completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2018. After graduating, she obtained a part time job as a charge nurse in long-term care for about 6 months.
“I was able to learn some valuable leadership skills and got my feet wet in nursing,” she explained. “Then I moved jobs to the Henry Ford Emergency Department, and I’ve been working full time since then. “
Due to the worldwide pandemic, she feels like her job has given her a voice.
“I've been working on the front line of this pandemic since March, and I work in Michigan which was hit hard back in the first wave,” she shared. “We saw a lot of very critically ill patients, and we were all learning on the job all over again, doing new protocols and giving new medications for a disease none of us had ever treated before.”
She said that since she was right there in the middle of COVID, she felt like she gained a respected voice and had valuable opinions that could help enlighten people.
“I’ve recently used social media to post educated resources and information regarding COVID, and the COVID vaccine,” she said. “I know I’m not an epidemiologist, or a social media influencer but I hope that the information I post may help even just one person better understand the importance of social distancing, wearing masks, staying home, or getting vaccinated.”
Even though her job is complex and can be complicated at times, there is a lot Scholl loves about it her field of work.
“There are many things I love about it and there are many days that are frustrating and beyond stressful,” she explained. “I deal with people on often the worst day of their lives, they’re coming to me after being in pain, learning about a bad diagnosis, or being in serious trauma. I chose this career to be constantly challenged, I enjoy that I get to keep learning new things and make a difference in people’s lives.”
With the pandemic’s rate of cases growing in Windsor, Scholl explained that she has been fortunate enough to have a close friend that has helped her through the challenging times.
“My best friend and I worked pretty much the same shifts throughout all of Covid,” she explains. “Unless you worked front line in this pandemic, I don’t think you really understand what we saw and what we went through. We didn’t see family or friends outside of coworkers so to have people that knew what you were going through made it a lot easier.”
She explained that it was hard for her and her other workers and on top of her stress at work, she was being shut out by family and friends due to their fears of the pandemic.
“Having someone to be able to relate to your experience makes life a lot easier,” she says. “Having great coworkers make life feel a little more normal, going to work doesn’t always feel like fighting on the front line of a pandemic, it sometimes just feels like going to work with your friends. It makes me feel like it’s almost a normal life.”
Through it all, Scholl shares her excitement about recently getting her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.
“I am really excited that after such a long year, I was fortunate enough to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” she shares. “I know this can be a controversial topic for some, and not everyone is on board, however, if you’ve seen the Covid patients I’ve seen, and read the information about the vaccine, you’d understand why I made the choice I did.”
With around 659,000 cases of Covid-19 in Canada alone, the pandemic has taken a toll on many people’s lives, especially frontline workers. Doctors, nurses, retail workers, teachers, and many have been affected by the virus, not only physically, but mentally as well.
It has been almost a year since the virus struck the Windsor area, changing the landscape of how we operate in our everyday lives, and affecting many health care professional’s work lives, including Registered Nurse, Georgia Scholl.
Scholl attended the University of Windsor and completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2018. After graduating, she obtained a part time job as a charge nurse in long-term care for about 6 months.
“I was able to learn some valuable leadership skills and got my feet wet in nursing,” she explained. “Then I moved jobs to the Henry Ford Emergency Department, and I’ve been working full time since then. “
Due to the worldwide pandemic, she feels like her job has given her a voice.
“I've been working on the front line of this pandemic since March, and I work in Michigan which was hit hard back in the first wave,” she shared. “We saw a lot of very critically ill patients, and we were all learning on the job all over again, doing new protocols and giving new medications for a disease none of us had ever treated before.”
She said that since she was right there in the middle of COVID, she felt like she gained a respected voice and had valuable opinions that could help enlighten people.
“I’ve recently used social media to post educated resources and information regarding COVID, and the COVID vaccine,” she said. “I know I’m not an epidemiologist, or a social media influencer but I hope that the information I post may help even just one person better understand the importance of social distancing, wearing masks, staying home, or getting vaccinated.”
Even though her job is complex and can be complicated at times, there is a lot Scholl loves about it her field of work.
“There are many things I love about it and there are many days that are frustrating and beyond stressful,” she explained. “I deal with people on often the worst day of their lives, they’re coming to me after being in pain, learning about a bad diagnosis, or being in serious trauma. I chose this career to be constantly challenged, I enjoy that I get to keep learning new things and make a difference in people’s lives.”
With the pandemic’s rate of cases growing in Windsor, Scholl explained that she has been fortunate enough to have a close friend that has helped her through the challenging times.
“My best friend and I worked pretty much the same shifts throughout all of Covid,” she explains. “Unless you worked front line in this pandemic, I don’t think you really understand what we saw and what we went through. We didn’t see family or friends outside of coworkers so to have people that knew what you were going through made it a lot easier.”
She explained that it was hard for her and her other workers and on top of her stress at work, she was being shut out by family and friends due to their fears of the pandemic.
“Having someone to be able to relate to your experience makes life a lot easier,” she says. “Having great coworkers make life feel a little more normal, going to work doesn’t always feel like fighting on the front line of a pandemic, it sometimes just feels like going to work with your friends. It makes me feel like it’s almost a normal life.”
Through it all, Scholl shares her excitement about recently getting her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.
“I am really excited that after such a long year, I was fortunate enough to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,” she shares. “I know this can be a controversial topic for some, and not everyone is on board, however, if you’ve seen the Covid patients I’ve seen, and read the information about the vaccine, you’d understand why I made the choice I did.”