Teaching on the
FRONT LINES BY CHUCK WASSERSTROM
GUIDING STUDENTS IN CLINICAL SETTINGS MEANS WORRIES FOR INSTRUCTORS, TOO Brooke Epperson
A
s an assistant professor in the School of Nursing, Brooke Epperson is dedicated to keeping her students out of dangerous situations during their clinicals. 16
ON CALL
2020
As a registered nurse in her own clinical practice—primarily in the emergency room—she often finds herself tending to infected patients. Toeing both sides of the line during COVID-19 gives her a unique perspective of life as a nurse. “My view of the situation and the pandemic is different than some others from the anxiety level because I’ve seen it in life, in person, at the bedside for the
last few months,” Epperson says. “Not that it’s not scary, because it is—and I don’t want to sound I’m like I’m desensitized to it to any degree—but it’s more manageable to me because I’ve dealt with it. “I’m not worried about catching it because I’ve been around it so much. I’m more protective of my students than I am of myself because I’ve come into interaction with it so much now.” UTC.EDU/NURSING
