COVID-19 patient experience

Firsthand COVID-19 patient experience from New York ICU – Mastering Intensive Care 060 with Simone Hannah-Clark

In many parts of the world the COVID-19 pandemic is overburdening Intensive Care Units with huge numbers of critically unwell patients, many of whom are dying. Whilst China, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the UK have been crisis-ridden over the last few months, one of the most inundated parts of the world right now is the USA and especially the state of New York. In this episode you will hear the firsthand experience of a New York City ICU nurse where things are extremely intense and overwhelming.

Simone Hannah-Clark (@kiwi_yankee) is a critical care nurse in the Medical ICU at the Mount Sinai hospital in Manhattan. Originally a New Zealander, she worked in both New Zealand and Australia before moving to the USA 15 years ago. Simone recently penned an engrossing New York Times opinion piece entitled “An ICU Nurse’s Coronavirus Diary”. In this podcast she delves deeper into her recent reality as a nurse caring for ICU patients with COVID-19. She recounts stories of the hard work, the sense of duty, the intricacies of personal protective equipment, the inspiring camaraderie, her revived passion for her job, and above all the heartbreaking emotion of dying patients with absent relatives.

Nurses around the globe are doing extremely arduous jobs and risking their own health as they care for thousands of seriously ill people with COVID-19. They are the true linchpins of the ICU. As you’ll glean in this episode, Simone is a perfect example of the compassion, professionalism and humanity that is so essential in the world right now.

Links related to Simone Hannah-Clark

• Twitter: @kiwi_yankee
• Persevering Through A Pandemic – 2 – It Was Inconceivable
• Hannah-Clark S. An I.C.U. Nurse’s Coronavirus Diary. New York Times

Further reading and listening

• Full podcast collection on LITFL and Libsyn
• The New Normal Project podcast
• More conversation on Twitter (@andrewdavies66) and Facebook
• Audio Producer: Chris Burke of Burke Sound & Media