Interview with Samantha Spata, History 150 Spring 2020, Conducted by Emma Spata, April 8, 2020.

Biography:

Samantha Spata is a 22-year-old senior biochemistry student at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, VA. Samantha is my oldest and only sister. After graduation, Samantha is planning to attend graduate school to become a PA (physician’s assistant). Currently, Samantha is training to become an EMT volunteer, working at Dr. Ginsburgh’s office as a clinical assistant, and working as a medical scribe in the emergency room at Riverside Regional Medical Center. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Samantha is completing her last semester of CNU online while working full-time as a clinical assistant and part-time as a medical scribe to aid the local healthcare system.

Research:

According to Peter C. Doherty, a medical researcher from Australia, a pandemic is defined as a “new and previously unconfronted” infection that spreads all across the globe while possessing high rates of “morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death)” (Doherty). Historians have agreed that the earliest signs of most pandemics are subtle, since citizens tend to ignore crucial clues regarding the virus until it escalates enough through transmission and eventual deaths to force “reluctant acknowledgement” (Jones). In addition, as seen through the blame posed on many Chinese people during the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is often a public desire to “assign responsibility” (Jones). This need to assign blame “exploits existing social divisions of religion, race, ethnicity, class, or gender identity” and increases stigmatization surrounding races, class, etc., across the globe (Jones). 

The widespread societal changes caused by a pandemic are new to many young adults living through COVID-19, including my sister. Since the rise of global cases, many facilities have had to shut down as social distancing measures have been established in the majority of countries. For example, universities across the United States had to shut down in-person classes and most on-campus living to slow the spread of COVID-19. In Virginia, Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, James Madison University, and Christopher Newport University were among the different colleges to close their campuses in response to the pandemic (Jones, Nolte, & Martin). In direct relation to my sister, her university (CNU) halted all in-person classes and closed libraries, dorms, and other academic and recreational facilities to combat COVID-19.

As a healthcare worker during a pandemic, my sister has had to grapple with the possibility and high risk of infection. Dr. David Heymann, an infectious disease epidemiologist for WHO, stated that “health workers and caregivers are inevitably on the front line in a pandemic” (Heymann). Even without a pandemic occurring, healthcare workers may be risking their own health around their patients. Now with the COVID-19 pandemic unfolding, the reality of working in healthcare is brought to the forefront as workers hold an “ethical obligation to provide safe care”, while risking their own well-being and personal health (Heymann). While living through a pandemic is new for many young adults, like my sister, pandemics are notorious for claiming the lives of health care providers. For example, physicians fell ill and died during a yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia in 1793 and the Ebola epidemic in 2014 (Jones). In the present day, the news has reported increasing physician deaths linked to COVID-19, especially in China (Jones). Though many healthcare workers assume the risks while applying for their jobs, many times shortages in proper safety equipment and medical supplies can affect how successful and safe healthcare workers can be during these pandemics. 

Citations (MLA):

Doherty, Peter C. Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press, USA, 2013.

Heymann, David. “Learning from Pandemics Past.” Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease: Workshop Summary., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2007, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK54171/.

Jones, David S. “History in a Crisis – Lessons for Covid-19: NEJM.” The New England Journal of Medicine, 12 Mar. 2020, www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2004361.

Jones, M., Nolte, J., and S. Martin. “Universities across Virginia Cancel on-Campus Classes to Limit Spread of Coronavirus.” Dailypress.com, Daily Press, 11 Mar. 2020, www.dailypress.com/news/health/dp-nw-coronavirus-college-preparations-20200311-z477ideuc5fifodxnxi32pta6y-story.html.

Transcription:

ES: Okay, so could you start by introducing yourself?

SS: Yeah. My name is Samantha Spata. I’m a 22-year-old female student at Christopher Newport University majoring in biochemistry. I’m currently working as a medical scribe at the level-two trauma center across the street. It’s called Riverside Regional Medical Center.

ES: Okay, great. Can you describe how your life has changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?

SS: Well, um, to start, I’m home instead of at school. I’m sure it’s something we’re all pretty familiar with as students,. being away from our friends. It’s pretty tough, but it’s, it’s for everyone’s safety to be home. So I understand it. And that’s really the biggest change I’ve seen. You know, my whole circumstances have have been changed because of that. With online classes, transition hasn’t been super easy but I don’t think it is on anybody. Um, and then from the medical standpoint, it’s a lot different. Going into rooms, scribes are kind of prohibited from doing that now, especially if they have any sort of coughs, shortness of breath, or recent travel … wouldn’t go to the rooms at all. But otherwise, any other patient, even if they’ve just like, stubbed their toe, we have to just stand outside the rooms and watch and listen our best to what’s going on while we take notes for the doctor. It’s not the most ideal situation but it’s the safest and so we’re all rolling with it.

ES: With all those changes, what do you think has been the hardest for you to deal with?

SS: So of course I can deal with the workplace changes, you know, the safety precautions and things really don’t bother me all that much so truly I think the social transition, coming home from classes, and the abruptness of that. I’ve been struggling with being away from friends suddenly and not sure if I’ll see them again since I’m graduating.

ES: With all this going on, can you describe your initial reaction to COVID-19?

SS: Honestly, um, I saw it as a lot of young people did as just a flu-type illness that people were hyping up. I thought the media was overhyping it and creating unnecessary fear in people. And I thought it was ridiculous. I thought it was silly that I couldn’t go to the dining hall and get my own food anymore and I was having to be served behind a glass screen, I thought that was just ridiculous. And it wasn’t until I realized the severity of it and saw all the changes at the hospital and the precautions that they were taking and heard more medical news from the doctors. They were taking it pretty seriously. So I realized that it really is something not to be reckoned with.

ES: So as a healthcare worker, understanding the reality of the pandemic, have you been worried for your own health and safety?

SS: Um, so it’s funny because we don’t know a whole lot for sure about this virus. You know, there are things that people suspect. I’ve heard that certain blood types may be more susceptible. I’ve heard that certain people may have an enzyme in their lungs that makes them more, you know, that increases their likelihood of recovering and so I know my blood type, but I don’t even know if that’s true about the blood type thing. I, there’s no way of knowing whether I have this enzyme or if that even is a factor. I don’t have any respiratory illnesses, chronically. Um, and so I feel like I wouldn’t, myself, be in any harm, if I were to contract it, I don’t think I would be, but, it’s more so my family. It’s more so my grandparents. I try as hard as I can at the hospital to wash my hands, to wear my PPE [personal protective equipment]. But, I mean, there’s so much unknown about it. That’s the scary part. That’s … really the scary part of this pandemic.

ES: Yeah, I think a lot of people would agree with you on that. So how have you seen society change in response to the pandemic, through your eyes?

SS: It’s funny, it’s a two-fold change. Um, of course, people are quarantining, they’re not, you know, there’s no social gatherings. No one’s going to the beach. No one’s going to the mall. And that’s, of course, there’s that side of it. But also, on the flip side, I’ve seen people on the walking trails more in our neighborhood. I’ve seen people take more time for themselves during this pandemic, maybe with time that they didn’t have originally with work, or I’m not sure exactly where that’s coming from, but, if there is a positive side to this pandemic, I think it’s that people are starting to find time to focus on themselves.

ES: So, on the other end of the spectrum, then, how have you experienced the healthcare system where you work shift to accommodate the virus?

SS: So specifically, all staff are changing into disposable, green scrubs when they arrive in the locker rooms, to be disposed of at the end of their shift. We all wear a special type of mask, called an N95, that’s supposed to prevent any sort of aerosolized particles from entering. We wear eye masks at all times. We’re bleaching our computers with wipes after each patient visit. And I can describe for you what it’s like when someone with suspected COVID comes into the hospital. They don’t come in through the ambulance bay. No one comes in through the ambulance bay anymore. So that’s typically where EMTs would come in and bring patients in. There’s actually a special side room where they decontaminate all the beds before coming into the hospital now, to make sure that there’s nothing on the beds, every single patient goes through it, but COVID patients as well. And everyone is wearing these hazmat-looking suits. And their faces are completely covered with this face shield part of the suit and the tube comes out from, I think the top of the suit, it looks very scary. I can only imagine from the patient’s perspective. I can’t even really smile at patients anymore. As I see them come in my face is covered by a mask and I just wonder what that looks like. You know, they’re scared, of course, they’re entering a hospital during a pandemic. And we’re all just turning our heads with these masks, can’t even smile. It’s a totally different environment. Everyone’s wearing masks.

ES: So do you think the amount of people you’ve been seeing in the ER has gone down? Are people staying home?

SS: Oh, absolutely. And that’s kind of the unexpected. The unexpected side to it, too. I mean, there’s a lot of unexpected sides. But another is that I was expecting the patient count to increase. It’s a pandemic, right? So it only would make sense except, I guess, no. People are afraid to come to the hospital for things that they would have originally, you know, their baby, their baby’s wheezing. Their baby hasn’t pooped in a while, you know, we get a lot of those cases, you know, just concerned mothers. But, you know, of course mothers nowadays would be more concerned that their baby might catch the virus or something. So, so we’re not seeing any cases like that that aren’t critical. We see a lot of still our usual heart attacks, strokes, things that, you know, they would die otherwise. If, you know, if it’s not life threatening, they’re just not coming in anymore.

ES: So have you yourself come into contact with any confirmed or presumed positive COVID-19 patients?

SS: I have not. I am not allowed in or near the rooms of any patient with those symptoms.

ES: Okay. Do you think, in your eyes, the media’s portrayal of COVID-19 accurately reflects what you’ve been seeing or hearing about as a healthcare worker?

SS: Um, so like I said, initially, I thought the media was way over hyping this. I thought that it was instilling fear in people that it didn’t need to. I think the media does do that in a lot of cases. You know, something comes up in the media that becomes popular and they’ll talk about it for a while and people get more excited about it. And I thought it was just another one of those things. I thought it was just a new virus and there was nothing to be concerned with, but now that I realized that it is potentially very dangerous … Now that I realized that it is potentially very dangerous, I guess I’m glad that they’ve instilled that fear. I’m glad people are staying home that, you know, scientists are working hard somewhere to make us a treatment, a vaccine of some kind. So, while I do think it does instill fear, and that the portrayal is very scary, I think it’s reasonably so.

ES: So what do you think in the end, then, the kind of lasting impact that this pandemic will have on our society?

SS: I think that’s a pretty … Yeah, and again, it’s scary to me because it’s uncertain. I like certainty, and that’s just a question that none of us can answer right now. Will people continue elbow bumping instead of shaking hands? Will acquaintances hug? I hope so. I think we can get back to normal and I would just, I would assume maybe that this will just be treated as another potential illness that exists, and you know to catch it will be similar to catching the flu but hopefully if we have a vaccine in place, you know, it won’t be as feared, and it won’t be as uncertain as it is now.

ES: Okay, that’s all. Thank you so much for answering those questions.

SS: Of course.

[Transcribed by https://otter.ai]

Overview of Interview Process:

This interview was conducted in-person as my sister and I are both currently living and working from home. I recorded the interview in a quiet office in my home using the “Voice Memo” app on my Apple computer. I did not have to edit out any parts of the audio and did not encounter any obvious audio obstacles when listening to the interview.

Conclusion:

I think the interview went very well and I was extremely impressed with my sister’s responses. Personally, I wish I had focused more on going “off-script” and asking questions based off of some of her answers; however, I was happy with the answers I did receive. I felt like the interview flowed pretty well; however, I could work on cutting out a few “um’s” in my speech. In general, I am very happy I got to interview my sister on this topic considering the pandemic circumstances. I found it very interesting to hear about her experiences since we normally do not get to sit down and talk about what her work is like, especially during this hectic time.