MCC Nursing Alums Work on the Frontlines of COVID-19

Middlesex Community College is proud to prepare nurses. Although the effects of COVID-19 have required the college’s Nursing Program and faculty to be creative in their teaching styles, the program’s mission of student success remains the same. For Middlesex alumni – Lauren Dominguez, Jennie Lim and Rachel Williams – who are now battling on the frontlines of the pandemic as nurses, they believe their education served them well for the workforce.

“Nursing is a practice profession and every pre-licensure nursing program requires hours of practice to ensure graduates are prepared to transition safely into the workforce,” said Dr. Sandra Shapiro, MCC’s Program Director of Nurse Education. “This is important work, educating nurses has never been so vitally important to our local and global communities than it is now!”

Dominguez calls her experience at MCC “life changing.” She has wanted to be a nurse since she was a child and came to Middlesex as an adult-learner looking to pursue her dream. Now she works in the Emergency Room at Emerson Hospital.

“Middlesex prepared us to be good nurses,” she said. “They know what they’re doing. The level of expertise with the professors is unbelievable. I really respect that they helped and taught me.”

Lim believes that because of MCC, she feels prepared to do her job. As a nurse at Lowell General Hospital on D4 – an intermediate care unit – she provides care for both COVID and non-COVID patients. Although this is challenging, she remembers the persistence she learned at school.

“I loved my time at MCC and I’m so glad I went there for nursing,” Lim said. “It was tough, but no one ever said nursing school was going to be easy. If you put forth the effort, you will get through it and be successful. I never gave up.”

For Williams, nursing is a rewarding experience and she cannot picture herself working in any other profession. Having worked as a nurse for almost a year in the ICU, she now fully realizes the value of her education from Middlesex.

“It wasn’t like Middlesex was preparing me to take a test or get my license,” she said. “In all of my practice and lectures, they really prepared me to be a nurse and brought together the full picture of what it means and what your goal is. I felt that way in the program, but now that I’m a nurse, I can vouch for that.”

Dominguez, Lim and Williams all keep in touch with their professors and classmates. Most recently, people have been checking in to see how everyone is holding up or asking how each hospital is handling COVID-19 treatments.

This support from faculty was a fixture throughout their academic journeys – learning how to transfer the skills and theoretical approach they learned in school to the real world of nursing.

Dominguez says she grew a “thick skin” thanks to her professors, which helps in all of the challenging parts of nursing every day.

“They really need to prepare you because this is a tough job,” she said. “I remember one of my professors telling me, ‘you need to know the things that you don’t know.’ It means that when you don’t know something, be ready to learn and receive constructive criticism, correction and direction.”

Lim credits several of her professors for their influence, including Professors Bradley, Small and Lavallee. Each of them brought different strengths and assistance when she needed it.

“I loved all of the professors, but there were a few who stood out to me,” she said. “My professors were always available whenever I had questions or struggled with a topic and my classmates were always very supportive.”

Williams gained a lot from each of her professors for a number of reasons, but it is their understanding and passion for their subjects that stands out.

“The nursing faculty was super supportive of us and really wanted us to succeed,” Williams said. “All the professors were passionate about the areas of their focus and about teaching. They were really helpful in building those foundational skills and the values I’ve taken with me in my nursing practice.”

Having a network of support – whether with former faculty, classmates or current co-workers – helps them endure. The biggest challenge through this pandemic is not something that could be taught, but learned in the moment. Having to witness the isolation their patients feel in the wake of families not being allowed into the room is a struggle they all face.

“I can only do so much with a mask and a shield and these big gowns,” Dominguez said. “They can’t see my face, they can’t see me smile, they can’t see me cry. They might feel the emotion, but they can’t see it and that is really difficult. That has really changed how I treat my patients. It’s sobering and it’s sad and I’m trying to be a little bit more verbal on my plan for them."

Lim finds it challenging to leave a patient’s room because of how lonely and afraid they feel.

“These individuals are fighting for their lives alone,” she said. “Families are depending on us to support and advocate for their loved ones. Through it all, my colleagues and I are rolling with the punches – doing the best we can while still providing quality care for our patients.”

Williams has helped be creative in allowing patients to connect with their families.

“It’s been hard not letting family members in,” she said. “But they’ve been using technology to be creative – an iPad to connect to Zoom for families to be present with them, and I can give them privacy to be together.”

Despite these challenges, their hard work and determination has shown their resiliency.

As she works through the pandemic and sees how it changes every day, Dominguez believes Middlesex prepared her for how to respond to it.

“We need to adapt and change and be willing to learn in order to do our job effectively,” she said. “It changes the way I look at my colleagues. We are so in this together. I could not be prouder of the people I work with and the management who’s leading us. We’ll learn from this and we’ll learn together.”

COVID-19 has created new stressors to an already demanding job, according to Lim – especially the fear of the unknown and a heavier workload. Now a primary nurse, she delegates tasks to a team. When they work on a patient, there is always another right behind with little time to process what is happening in the moment.

“Despite everything that’s being thrown at us, we still remain resilient and hopeful,” Lim said. “We have our good days and days when we feel absolutely defeated. But regardless of the circumstances, we will show up for our next shift, whether it be for 8 or 12 hours, ready to work as a team.”

In the beginning, Williams said it was hardest with there being so many unanswered questions and having to figure out new plans to deal with COVID-19. But the goal to treat patients above all, remains the same.

“The core nursing practice hasn’t changed,” Williams said. “We’ve definitely had to make a lot of adjustments to the way we do things.” It has reinforced how vital our role is and how resilient we are. How much we make a difference in the outcome of these patients is an important role.”

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/nursing/ for more information on MCC’s Nursing Program. Registration for MCC’s Summer and Fall Programs are now open. To register, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, we educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners. MCC offers more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses – on our campuses in Bedford and Lowell, and online. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!