Our weekly Alumni Spotlight series features updates on the outstanding graduates of the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing. Lorren Yniguez, class of 2020, shares her experiences as a nurse working in a pandemic.
Where do you work?
What is your title?
Registered nurse
How has COVID-19 impacted your life?
COVID has impacted my family a great deal. We haven’t been able to see each other in person, only over Zoom or from a distance. I moved out of my house in the beginning of COVID to ensure their safety.
Working in the emergency department, there have been many changes over the last year that have taken a lot of adjusting. I feel as coworkers, we have a stronger bond after fighting COVID together. I personally feel that it added an extra layer of anxiety to being a new grad nurse and impacted the regular new-grad education.
What initially drew you to the nursing profession?
Both life experiences and qualities of the nursing role drew me to the profession. I have always loved to take care of people and I love that nursing requires both compassion and critical-thinking skills.
What do you love most about being a nurse?
What I love most about being a nurse is bringing calm to someone’s chaos. Especially as an ED nurse, there is no better experience than being able to help save a life or watching your patient leave your care better off than when they arrived.
I love that I get to love people by caring for them. Regardless of whether I know you or not, I’m here to say “I care about you and I’m here to help you.” I also love working with other people who have made it their goal to take care of others.
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