Natlie McGraw
MSW student Natalie McGraw has been busy this spring, but not simply because she graduated
on May 8th. Natalie is a trauma nurse at Temple University Hospital and has been caring for
patients who’ve tested positive for COVID-19. She has faced many challenges as a medical
worker on the frontlines of the fight against the Coronavirus, including managing
with limited supplies of personal protective equipment, dealing with the difficulties
that come with communicating with patients’ family members who are unable to be with
their loved ones, and the stress of being assigned to less familiar units to meet
the needs of the hospital seeing a surge of sick patients.
Natalie has used skills she has learned as a student to advocate for her patients without the resources to adequately care for themselves after being discharged, including African American patients, who are disproportionately affected by the virus. She has been able to get a head start on her goal of integrating her nursing and social work skills to better care for marginalized patients. In addition to advocating for her own patients, Natalie has successfully advocated to have access to more PPE to protect herself and her fellow nurses.
As a result of caring for multiple patients sick with the virus, Natalie herself became ill and tested positive for COVID-19. She had a severe case and was sick for two weeks, but is now slowly recovering. Natalie encourages everyone who is able to stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while also acknowledging that not everyone has that privilege. Thank you Natalie for all that you’ve done for your patients and your community!