Nurses at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta were among the first RNs to treat patients with the Ebola virus in the United States. In this online feature that also appeared in the Nurse.com Ebola magazine app, Carolyn Hill, MSN, RN-BC, nursing unit director of the serious communicable disease unit at Emory, shared what they learned in the process of caring for three patients with Ebola at the facility. Hill described it as an “emotional journey,” and said that practicing what they learned was one thing, implementing it in a real situation was quite another experience. She discussed the challenges the nurses faced in the 18-step donning and doffing of the personal protective equipment and in caring for the Ebola patients and themselves. They handled logistics like adjusting shift hours, juggling nurse staffing and learning how to maintain the ventilators. Open communication among the care team and to the entire hospital was a critical component to their success, and Hill’s reflections on “lessons learned” can benefit patients and caregivers overseas and at home.
