Praise Pettus
Registered Nurse at Baptist Hospital
As a frontline nurse during the Covid-19 pandemic, Pettus served her patients with compassion, care and kindness as they faced an international pandemic.
When did you first become interested in nursing?
During the summer several years ago, I tagged along to the nursing home in Fort Walton Beach where my mom worked. I discovered first-hand the importance of being a caregiver and the impact nursing had on others. The seed was planted, and what blossomed in those moments of service was a calling to care for others. Eventually, I enrolled in the nursing program at UWF because I knew the instructors held the students to a high standard of nursing care and excellence. I was very shy when I started at UWF, and it wasn’t easy to face the unknown of life after high school, but Lydia Toenes, one of my professors, mentored, tutored, prayed and encouraged me throughout my time at UWF. Thanks to mentors like Toenes and the education I received, I felt much more prepared and comfortable going into the profession.
What was your experience as a frontline nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic?
No one could have predicted the incredible impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on our society, economy and everyday life. I remember the fear that the outbreak would overwhelm our healthcare system. Makeshift hospital facilities were erected and hospital protocols were initiated that quarantined COVID-19 positive patients, tested medical professionals for exposure, postponed elective medical procedures and eliminated hospital visitations from families and friends. As a nurse on the frontline, it was daunting, but I was encouraged by the heroes surrounding me from other brave nurses to fearless patients. I knew that despite the challenges ahead of me, this is what I was called to do.
What lessons have shaped you into the nurse you are today?
Since families and friends weren’t allowed in hospitals to visit, I learned to administer medical treatments to my patients in the form of hope to combat the heightened sense of anxiety, despair and depression – a gloved hand to hold, a comforting voice to pray with and a person to talk to and spend time with. All the community support was inspiring as well. With us essential workers being on the frontline, I’m so thankful for all of the thoughts, prayers and kind actions this community showed during that time. It kept me motivated and made my heart smile. Even though COVID-19 has passed, I still feel that I learned invaluable lessons that I carry with me to this day.