CORVALLIS, Ore. – About a year ago, Sierra Christensen – formerly Sierra Linke – was graduating from the Oregon Health & Science University. Now, she’s a registered nurse battling the COVID-19 pandemic on the front line in Intensive Care.
Christensen played two years of volleyball at Eastern Oregon University, helping the Mountaineers win back-to-back outright Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season title in 2015 and 2016, along with consecutive trips to the NAIA National Championship.
The former outside hitter believes her time as a student-athlete helped prepare her for life outside of the court.
“Athletics imparts on you life lessons such as respect, effective communication, and the ability to know your limits,” said Christensen. “These have all impacted my work life in great ways. As a nurse, communication is one of the most important aspects between other nurses during a hand-off, with delegating tasks, and reporting events to your physicians. It has also been very important to know my limits as this makes me a safer nurse, one who asks questions and isn't afraid to learn or be ‘coachable.’”
As a first responder, Christensen works closely with “some of the most intelligent intensivists, nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists, CNAs, and many more to help support critically ill patients.” She works as an Intensive Care Unit nurse, performing assessments every four hours, vital signs every hour and monitors her patients’ cardiac rhythms over a 12-hour shift.
Christensen works with patients who are on ventilators and have a breathing tube, who have various lines and drips to manage, and whose outcomes may not be ideal. She sees life and death on a daily basis and is her patients advocate during those times.
“I never expected my first year as a nurse to include a pandemic – one where I began to care for only one type of patient that can present, decline, and improve in a multitude of ways,” said Christensen. “I never expected to gain some of the experiences I have so fresh in my career and yet being thrown into the fire has allowed me to learn and be witness to some of the most interesting medical interventions.”
Christensen never predicted dealing with a pandemic, but her and her family have been coping well with it and, thankfully, have remained healthy. Even though her job is very high-demand and normally she wouldn’t get to spend much time with her family, the pandemic has given her the opportunity to spend more quality time together, off their phones and really be together in the moment.
“I have also been able to dive into my Christian faith more, as I know many others have,” said Christensen. “I miss being in church, but am comforted by the fact that God's people are the church and I am in a unique position with people knocking on death's door to share His truths and promises.”
Christensen has also seen the well-oiled machine healthcare offices have become, supporting one another the best they can during such a stressful time.
There is still work to be done to get out of the pandemic and Christensen wants people to know that it is hard on her too to sit with patients as they pass away while their families and loved ones are unable to enter the room due to a shortage of protective equipment.
“This pandemic is about more than yourself,” said Christensen. “Yes, we see the sickest of the sick, but they're still human beings whose lives deserve respect.
“I would also like to thank all of those people who do understand the job and its hardships, for they are the only ones who truly understand what it’s like,” added Christensen. “To non-healthcare workers, please ask us how we are doing. Not our job, not our patients or how many COVID [cases] we have, but how we as people are doing during this trying time.”
Above all, Christensen wants people to “be smart and be safe.”