Graduate student assists with temporary hospital in Maryland

When Prince George’s County in Maryland became a hot spot for the coronavirus earlier this year and was expecting a spike in hospitalizations because of COVID-19 cases, the governor designated a medical center in Laurel to treat patients suffering from the virus.

It set the stage for a clinical experience Amber Wake will remember forever.

Wake, who earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from TWU in 2010 and is graduating this May with a master’s degree in nursing – also from Texas Woman’s – was among those nurses called to the front lines of the pandemic.

At the Laurel Medical Center, she helped transform the institution into a temporary COVID-19 hospital. Wake scheduled nurses from all over the country to take new and overflow patients through the medical center’s emergency room. The hospital was set up to operate as a COVID-19 hospital for at least eight weeks, but the designation could be extended.

She credited her instruction at Texas Woman’s with helping manage the workflow at the medical center.

“I have previous shadowing experience in undergraduate school with our leadership course to see how managers work and run units,” Wake said. “In graduate school I have learned how to adapt to situations quickly and efficiently. My critical thinking skills have grown, and I’ve learned to be flexible.”

Page last updated 3:46 PM, September 27, 2021