COVID-19 nurses treat patients mentally

While nurses continue to tirelessly work at the forefront of the battle against coronavirus, they treat not only patients' bodily health but also their state of mind.

"Nurses use a holistic approach while treating patients, which means not only supporting them physically but also psychologically and mentally," Specialist Nurse Damla Bozkaya told Anadolu Agency on the occasion of Nurses Week.

Bozkaya, who works at the Hacettepe Hospital Adult COVID-19 service in the Turkish capital Ankara, said they work more than 40 hours a week with long shifts.

Explaining how hard they have worked since the worldwide pandemic struck Turkey, Bozkaya said nurses get personally involved with each patient every day regardless of their energy level.

"We're in constant communication with patients, since they don't have other people around," she said.

"Their room doors are constantly closed due to infection risk, and some of our patients fear death. They ask me questions like 'Will I get well? Is everyone in a worse situation like me? I'm afraid of dying. Have you caught the virus?'

"I patiently explain the process to each patient individually and try to relieve them psychologically."

Since the patients lack companions, nurses have to spend more time in the rooms of elderly, hearing-impaired, and vision-impaired patients, she said.

"Unfortunately, despite our protective equipment, in these situations we're exposed to a long and intense virus load," she added.

Underlining that they take protective measures against the virus seriously, she said they wear bonnets, gloves, and glasses, and put surgical masks over their medical-grade N95 masks.

"Most of the time, we can't eat our meals in the cafeteria. We take turns...