The Nurse-Mom Who Became Remote Learner-Teacher

For many nurses, the field of home health care offers hours and scheduling options that allow them to find their own work-life balance. And now, as families everywhere are adjusting to the new normal of the COVID-19 crisis, it is becoming apparent that one-on-one, community-based nursing is built for challenges like this—for the changing needs of clients and clinicians, alike.

College and elementary school go remote for LPN Lorin Blessing

For nine years, Lorin Blessing has been a BAYADA LPN who loves providing one-on-one care for children with serious diagnoses. She lives with her partner and their seven-year-old daughter, and for the last three years, she has been in a full-time RN college program with a cohort of classmates (and a little help from a BAYADA scholarship).

Their family balancing act was already a challenge before COVID-19. Lorin would work three days and go to college three days a week, plus 12-hour clinicals every other weekend. Her partner works full-time days. Spending time with their daughter and doing homework for both elementary school and college filled their nights.

But then COVID-19 hit. And that became a whole new ballgame.

“Oh, that was awful, homeschooling first grade… I have even more appreciation now for teachers because that was not my thing,” Lorin lamented. “And her school never went online—everything was on paper. We had this three-ring binder full of packets of homework. It was hard, and it took forever.”

“Meanwhile, my college went online. We had to download new software for testing. Zoom learning for classes. Put together two-hour presentations as a group project, remotely. Labs, clinicals, interactive learning modules, research software, simulations—all of it went online. There was a lot of troubleshooting. I must have spent 12 hours a day on my coursework. It was miserable.”

Flexibility makes it work

As a saving grace, the one thing that did not become harder in the pandemic was Lorin’s work schedule. “My office has always been great arranging my work around school. If I need to adjust, if I have a test coming up, I give them notice. Even last-minute accommodations, if school has a mandatory meeting, they find coverage or we nurses figure it out ourselves.”

Now that her daughter is home this summer with swim team and camps cancelled, Lorin knows that she can make it work with her nursing schedule in home health care. “In the [long-term care] facility I worked 16-hour shifts, and they still wanted me to pick up more. I couldn’t get vacation approved, couldn’t get off. I’d come home, and the facility was calling all night and on my days off.”

“At BAYADA, work doesn’t follow me home. There’s no worry,” Lorin remarked. “When I’m off, I’m with my family. I don’t miss out on the school recital. I’m always at her Valentine’s Day party; I just schedule ahead. The backup I get from my care team is phenomenal.”