Faith on the Frontlines: Nurse Battles Stress With Spirituality

Stephanie Reynolds is a 15-year nurse working in Cullman, Alabama. When the pandemic began, she was working in a long-term care facility.

“At first, I was really scared, and I prayed a lot,” explains Stephanie. “I even began wondering if I should look for a new career.”

In the spring of 2020, the lockdown and implementation of COVID protocols kept the facility free of COVID, but that all changed later that year.

Says Stephanie, “By the fall, the virus swept through. Many patients and staff became ill. We lost 25 patients and I tested positive in October.”

“I was terrified. I didn’t know how my body would react,” she continues. “Although I had to go to the ER for breathing issues, I did not have to be admitted. I had acute illness for about two weeks, and then on-and-off symptoms for the next six weeks.”

By the time Stephanie was well enough to report back to work, many had left the job and there was now a severe nursing shortage.

How did Stephanie cope?

Prior to the pandemic, Stephanie, who is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, had been devoting 70-plus hours per month in the public ministry. Although the pandemic suspended the door-to-door ministry, Stephanie continues reaching out to those in her community by writing letters and making phone calls offering comfort and hope. Despite her busy schedule, she also maintains her spiritual routine of attending Christian meetings (virtual) and associating with fellow believers.

American psychological and psychiatric associations, while not advocating or endorsing any specific religion, acknowledge a role for spirituality and religious faith in coping with distress and trauma.

Lawrence Onoda, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Mission Hills, California, noted a number of ways spirituality can help, including giving people “a positive hope and meaning toward life, comfort by looking for answers and strength from a higher power, and a collective shared experience of support and community.”

Despite her earlier reservations about remaining a nurse, Stephanie hasn’t quit.

“I want to help. I have been taking care of some of the residents for years and I know their families,” says Stephanie. “I also now know what my patients were going through with the virus.”

Despite the trials of the ongoing pandemic, Stephanie has decided to help even more patients by working at a local hospital, specifically with COVID patients.

She concludes, “The hope we have, especially the hope of the resurrection, helps me in many ways to continue and to cope.”

For more information on gaining comfort through the scriptures, please see https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/peace-happiness/real-hope-future-bible-promises/