WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES MAY 6, 2021 25
Queens resident talks experience as nurse
practitioner and educator during COVID-19
BY JENNA BAGCAL
JBAGCAL@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@JENNA_BAGCAL
Ever since she could remember,
Cambria Heights resident Junie
White has wanted to help others
and saw herself as a “people person.”
For the past three years, White —
who started off as a registered nurse
in 2006 and eventually became a
nurse practitioner in 2012 — has
worked at the St. Paul’s School of
Nursing in Rego Park, as a faculty
member teaching new nurses the
ins and outs of medical, surgical,
nursing and clinicals.
But when the pandemic started
to rapidly spread across New York
City, White had to learn how to
navigate working during the “new
normal” while simultaneously teaching
young nurses who were getting
ready to enter the workforce.
She also recalled her own experience
contracting COVID-19 in December
2020, making her fearful of
passing the virus along to her family,
especially her grandchildren.
“My major concern was that my
children and grandchildren would
be harmed — that was my greatest
fear. That’s why I opened up to my
students that once you choose a
path in life and you make it the path
you choose because of what you love,
you have nothing to fear but fear
itself,” White said.
After she recovered, White immediately
returned to work. The educator
said that sharing her story with
students helped to reassure them
that they were equipped with the
skills to work through COVID-19.
“This is why I reassure them:
because I have been there,” White
said. “You are going to be faced with
challenges like this. We don’t know
if we might not face something else
like COVID-19 or even worse. But
because you are a nurse and you are
trained as a nurse, these are some
of the things that you can cloud
your mind with. Sometimes help
doesn’t mean you’re going there to
give patients an injection or hang
an IV. Sometimes help means that
you’re going to hold their hands and
reassure them that this is what we’re
going to do and this will help.”
Over the past year, White has
learned that knowledge is one of
the best tools to have, whether she’s
speaking to her students or patients.
She’s interacted with and observed
countless individuals who lived
in fear during the pandemic and
credited some of the fear to a lack of
education.
“As healthcare providers, we can
show some empathy and care for
these people who are concerned
about what is going to happen to
them,” she said. “What we can do is
educate them on how they can take
care of themselves and how to protect
themselves and their family.”
In addition to teaching and working
as a nurse practitioner, White
began volunteering during the
weekends. During the height of the
pandemic, she heard that Governor
Cuomo was calling on retired nurses
and other volunteers to work at
makeshift clinics in underserved
areas.
“They sent information, so I filled
out the form and said I’ll volunteer
for a day and that’s when I got
started,” White said.
Her intention was to volunteer
for one day but she realized that
she could continue her full-time job
Photo courtesy of St. Paul’s School of Nursing
while volunteering on the weekends.
Many of the patients she serves at
these clinics are elderly, homeless,
HIV/AIDS-positive or battle substance
abuse.
White said that she does not see
herself as a “health care hero” or
“inspiration,” but rather as a person
who is willing to help those in need.
“I’m a person who will help in a
time of need as much as I can within
my capacity. It doesn’t matter who or
where or what — as long as is within
my capacity to help, I can help.”
In her spare time, White cares
for her grandchildren and goes to
church, where she and a team work
to educate the community about
health care.
“I found a little team at church
where I do annual health fair. We
invite the community to come in
and we give them health care education,”
she said. “I’m big on education
because I think a lot the illness in
society is because people are not
educated enough on how their body
works and what to do. Sometimes
on the primary level you can prevent
a lot of illness just through
education.”
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