Faces of the Frontline: 'I feel really proud to be from Newfoundland and get to work as a nurse,' says Kaitlin Lundrigan

Fifth in a series profiling front-line workers of the pandemic.

ST. JOHN'S —Kaitlin Lundrigan may not always have realized she was cut out to be a nurse, but her parents did, long before she even went to kindergarten.

It’s a testament to the strength of Kaitlin’s caring nature, says her mom, Raye Lundrigan.

“She was maybe three years old and I overheard her out in the garden,” Raye told The Telegram. “She had found an earthworm in the grass and she picked it up very gently. If it were me, I would have said eww, but she said, ‘Here you go, worm. I’m going to put you back in the soil so you can find your Mommy and Daddy.’ Kaitlyn has always had a very, very caring type of personality.”

When Kaitlin was a teenager, Raye never hesitated to tell her she was perfect for a career in health care. Kaitlin, however, went in a different direction, building on her interest in war history and completing a history degree.

Lundrigan says she loved that field, but it wasn’t long before she started to feel like something in her life was missing.

“I knew I wanted to help people. That’s what I like to do. I thought, maybe my parents are right and I should give (nursing) a try. It turned out that they were.”

Lundrigan, 30 years old and a native of Corner Brook, has been a licensed practical nurse (LPN) for the past three years, specializing in mental health and addictions and in normal circumstances, working for Eastern Health at the Waterford Hospital or the Recovery Centre in St. John’s. The past couple of months have seen her in a different role, on the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic, working in the COVID-19 screening clinic at St. Teresa’s Elementary School.

Corner Brook native Kaitlin Lundrigan, 30, is an LPN working at the COVID-19 screening clinic in St. Teresa's elementary school in St. John's. Her job requires her to work in full PPE, testing people for the novel coronavirus and assessing them to determine their needs. - Contributed

Lundrigan, who is also in the midst of completing a bachelor of nursing degree, is among those who are the first point of contact in health care for those who have contracted the novel coronavirus, or who suspect they may have caught it.

“It’s completely different work, to be honest,” she says. “The opportunity arose for me to volunteer to move into this position and I thought I was a really good fit. My boyfriend and I have separate bubbles, so I was able to not worry about accidentally getting someone sick. I decided to go for it, knowing it would be a great experience.”

Lundrigan’s job includes assessing anywhere from 15 to 30 patients a day, checking their vital signs, swabbing them for the coronavirus and determining their needs before a doctor completes a more detailed assessment.

Her work also includes putting on and taking off full personal protective gear — hair cover, face mask, face shield, gown, gloves and shoe covers at least 15 times a day.

“That’s tiring, in and of itself,” she says, “but you never, ever want to accidentally cross-contaminate and give someone something they don’t have. We just want to make sure everything is as safe as it could possibly be.”

Is she scared, potentially coming in direct contact with the coronavirus every single day? She’s not worried about contracting it herself, no.

“I feel very protected at my job,” Lundrigan says, adding that there’s always enough PPE and support from management to reassure her. “I never worry about it personally, but the thought that’s always on your mind is, what if I take it home, or what if I accidentally give it to someone else?”

Raye isn’t surprised at her daughter’s selflessness.

“She takes everything full steam ahead. She’s a brave soul,” Raye says of Kaitlin. “As a parent, you’re always worried, no matter what kind of career they’re in. I’m more proud of her than worried.”

Lundrigan is finding her mental health care experience valuable at the screening clinic, where patients are often anxious and nervous. Many times people need reassurance, she says, especially since they aren’t able to connect with their family members and friends for support the way they usually do, given the current public health rules related to social distancing and quarantine. Letting patients know we’re all going through the same thing together can go a long way, Lundrigan says, and she’s happy to be able to provide some comfort.

"I just hope everyone sees what all the other essential workers are doing." — Kaitlin Lundrigan

As the province moves into its third week without any new cases of COVID-19, Lundrigan is encouraging people to continue taking the public health measures as seriously as ever.

“I think we’re incredibly lucky to be where we are; to have had things put in place as soon as they were so we’re in the position where we can feel relieved and lucky,” she says. “There are so many places in the world that don’t have that opportunity and people are getting really sick and people are dying.

“This (virus) is very real and it’s not something that should be taken lightly. It’s not the flu. As much as we would like it to be, it’s not.”

At this point, Lundrigan has no hesitation in admitting that her parents were 100 per cent right, at least when it comes to her career.

She feels she’s in the right job and, even though she never expected to go through a public health pandemic, she is honoured to work on the front line.

“I feel really proud to be from Newfoundland and to get to work as a nurse,” she says. “I just hope everyone sees what all the other essential workers are doing. People who work in grocery stores or drugstores and other places, who are working just as hard as we are. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to function.”

Twitter: @tara_bradbury