Mayo Clinic ICU nurse reflects on year that changed profession forever

James Hansen describes how his role changed completely because of COVID-19

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – COVID-19 frontline workers are looking back on the year that changed their profession forever.

In a socially distant, masked pandemic, the jobs of frontline workers became more challenging.

The unknown of COVID-19 isolated patients from families and caregivers.

James Hansen, an ICU nurse at Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic, said it changed his role completely.

“I don’t get to learn as much as I would like to about the patient. I don’t know what they like to be called, I don’t know like what they like to watch on TV,” he explained.

James Hansen, an ICU nurse at Jacksonville’s Mayo Clinic, says COVID-19 changed his role completely. (WJXT)

Hansen has been taking care of COVID-19 patients since the beginning.

A big part of his job is being the connection between patients and families.

“I’m able to help ease the family concerns,” Hansen said. “Knowing that the families are getting well taken care of -- the family members are.”

The life-limiting conditions of patients contribute to their progress and Hansen said it can be the difference in their recovery.

“That’s the thing that’s almost hitting the patients the hardest. I spent the better part of one of my days working diligently to try to get a family member to be able to Zoom with their loved one,” he said. “And afterward, I stuck my head in and I asked the patient, I was like, ‘How did it go?’ And their response was, ‘It was therapeutic.’”

Hansen said he got the COVID-19 vaccine this week and said it’s been an interesting journey watching some patients get better quickly, while others get worse within just a few hours.

“It’s just so unknown as to why some are more severe than others, then it’s, it’s really not worth tempting,” Hansen said. “I mean, as silly as it is wearing the mask -- and just all that is so important to do.”

He said he’ll continue to care for COVID-19 patients but wants everyone in the outside world to do the same, by social distancing and wearing masks.


About the Author:

A Florida-born, Emmy Award winning journalist and proud NC A&T SU grad