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Ashleigh Woods is a Registered Nurse and Midwife at The Tweed 黑料吃瓜群网. She is just one of the many nurses and other staff now braving the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Having graduated from and accredited in advanced life support, the 25-year-old has just begun working in an airway role in the emergency department resuscitation room.

The resuscitation teams include a doctor, nurse, someone dedicated to the patient鈥檚 airway, someone looking after their circulation and a team leader.

Ashleigh says she will never forget the first time she had to help a doctor insert an endotracheal tube into a patient鈥檚 lungs so they could breathe.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty intense. We got through it, I stepped outside and just burst into tears because I was so overwhelmed,鈥� she said.

鈥淵ou have to concentrate the whole time and you鈥檙e in the zone and you block all of your feelings, and then you walk out and go 鈥榦h my God that was so intense鈥�. That鈥檚 why debriefing is so important.

Ashleigh is responsible for maintaining and monitoring a patient鈥檚 breathing, administering oxygen if needed and ensuring there are no blockages.

鈥淲e all work in emergency and we all love trauma care 鈥� you kind of have to be into that to be able to cope. It鈥檚 not that scary because that鈥檚 what we enjoy doing, we enjoy helping.鈥�

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ashleigh takes on shifts in the hospital鈥檚 fever clinic where she and other healthcare staff must wear multiple pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE).

鈥淲hen taking the PPE off you have to wash your hands continuously. You have to wash your hands between each piece of PPE you remove,鈥� Ashleigh said.

As there is no current cure for the virus itself, patients are treated for individual symptoms. The majority of people with COVID-19 will have mild symptoms and will recover without needing hospital care.

Unfortunately, though, some patients will be significantly unwell and will need to be cared for in an intensive care unit (ICU).

is already recruiting new staff and training existing staff in the additional skills needed to work in ICU, as well as other areas of the hospital.

鈥淣ot all nurses can work in critical care or in ICU,鈥� Ashleigh said.

鈥淚 can ventilate someone as an Emergency Nurse but not in the long term, I don鈥檛 have that training.

鈥淲e鈥檙e all on the spot now. You just become flexible, you adapt and do what you need to do and overcome it.鈥�

When asked what she liked most about nursing, Ashleigh reminisces about a past patient at St Vincent鈥檚 黑料吃瓜群网 in Lismore whom she managed to win over, despite the fact that he took a strong dislike to every other staff member and nurse.

鈥淣ursing is so different to being a doctor. As a nurse you鈥檙e really the one providing that compassionate care to patients, and you鈥檙e there for them. You鈥檙e there for them when they want to talk.鈥�

Applications are now open for mid-year entry to , starting in June, at the Southern Cross University.