Photo By Tech. Sgt. Erin Mills | U.S. Air Force Reservist Capt. Erin Rost, United States Air Force Academy admissions...... read more read more
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SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. – As billions of people face the historic widespread shutdown brought on by the emergence of COVID-19, there is a small group of individuals who are working tirelessly to take the fight to the virus: our nation's nurses. These heroes' faces are continuously covered by respiratory masks and face shields, and most of them will never be seen in magazines or on popular television shows. Nonetheless, while this all-encompassing pandemic has brought a sense of uncertainty, one thing that remains constant is the unwavering dedication of most nurses to serve and protect the those in need. One of these nurses is Capt. Erin Rost.
Rost is a reservist in the Air Force serving as a United States Air Force Academy admissions liaison officer helping young adults achieve their dreams of commissioning in the Air Force while simultaneously leading her local community in the fight against COVID-19 as a medical-surgical nurse. She recently transitioned into a Labor and Delivery position in late April. Rost says she has a very physically and emotionally demanding job, but strongly maintains that it is a labor of love.
“I felt called to a life of service in the Air Force and as a nurse which has been fulfilling and provided me with many life-changing experiences,” said Rost.
Rost says labor and delivery nursing can be a complex and challenging specialty to which many registered nurses aspire, the job requires empathy, critical thinking, decision-making, and communication skills. Most L&D nurses are required to have some general medical-surgical nursing experience before they can transition into the L&D specialty, and they must be able to communicate effectively with patients, families, and other health care providers.
“When you work in L&D, you’re not just taking care of one patient, you're taking care of the entire family,” said Rost. “It’s been difficult watching laboring mothers being limited to one support person and no visitors. They don’t necessarily have all the support they would have wanted. This can cause additional stress and anxiety to an already tough situation.”
Before Rost started working in labor and delivery she was working on a medical-surgical floor caring for patients diagnosed with the coronavirus. As most of the world was scared and shutting down, Rost took faith that her hospital management was handling the situation to the best of their ability with the limited information available, and she focused on blocking out the noise in order to put the needs of her patients first.
“To be honest, I have been impressed with how my hospital has handled, and continues to handle, COVID-19,” said Rost. “When everything first started, it was obviously overwhelming for not only front-line hospital workers but also management. The policies were changing daily, but just like in the Air Force, adaptability and flexibility were the keys to success.”
Rost has been treating People Under Investigation as well as people who have tested positive for the virus. Like many, she has been following the news and reading articles on the unfolding pandemic, and recalls the anxiety brought on by information about the disease changing on a daily basis. Just like other challenges Rost has faced in the past, she was determined to use her training and knowledge to overcome the panic and provide exceptional care for her patients.
“I remember clear as day getting all gowned up for my first COVID-19 patient. I went in the room and was pretty nervous. I did his vital signs, drew labs, and gave him his morning medications,” said Rost. “After a few minutes, he said, ‘You know, the hardest thing about all of this for me, is I just feel really lonely.’ In that moment, I was reminded of perhaps my most important role as a bedside nurse: being present for patients during their most trying and difficult times.”
After that moment, Rost decided to stop watching the news, stop being scared, and to focus on the things she could control. At her hospital, just like many hospitals around the country, visitors have been extremely limited. On her medical-surgical floor, visitors were allowed only on a case-by-case basis and were mostly limited to end-of-life care. On her labor and delivery unit, those in labor had a limited number or no support person with them in the delivery room. By transitioning her mindset and approach to COVID, Rost says she was better able to be "in the moment" with those who needed her most, and she witnessed hospital staff on other units stepping up and giving their all for their patients.
“Everyone has been more than willing to rise to this challenge,” said Rost. “On both floors, I saw everyone stepping up and doing the little things to help each other and just be present for their patients.”
When asked where she gets her extreme work ethic, empathetic nature, and strength, Rost said she contributes this to her diverse background. She grew up in Sacramento, California, where her dad served in the Air Force as a C-5 Galaxy loadmaster and her mother worked as an emergency room nurse. She contributes many of her successes to the constant support she receives from her family. When Rost was only eight years old her father took the family to visit the AFA, and Rost remembers promising herself that she would one day attend the Academy and be an officer in the Air Force.
“Setting a huge goal like that at a young age helped me stay focused and pushed me to step out of my comfort zone,” said Rost. “It also taught me the invaluable lesson that anything is possible if you are willing to put in the work.”
Rost followed through on her promise, and she attended the AFA where she played division one soccer and was a jumpmaster and skydiving instructor on the United States Air Force Parachuting Team, the "Wings of Blue." After graduation she move to Boston, Massachusetts, where she served as an Air Force acquisitions and recruiting officer. Rost loved working in this capacity, but she felt a strong desire to serve her country and community in a different way.
“I come from a long line of nurses. My great-grandma was a nurse, my grandma was a nurse in the Army Air Corps, and my mom and aunt are both nurses,” said Rost. “While I got my degree in business management and went into acquisitions, my heart was always pulled to nursing.”
While Rost was stationed at Hanscom AFB near Boston, MA, she found a part-time nursing program that offered classes in the evening. She attended class three days a week from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. and completed her clinical rotations every other weekend. She did all of this while working full-time as an active-duty commissioned officer and living with two roommates to save money to help pay for her nursing degree. Rost was able to complete the program and earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in just three years. She attributes her success in the program to her Air Force supervisors and classmates.
“I was very blessed with the support I received not only from my Air Force leadership but also from my nursing program,” said Rost. “My acquisitions job required a lot of travel, and my classmates and teachers were very supportive of me. They would record lectures for me, send me their notes and study guides, and provide one-on-one tutoring if I needed it. I didn’t get much sleep those three years, but I was able to fulfill all of my duties as an acquisitions officer, a recruiting flight commander, and a nursing student. It was all worth it when I became a Registered Nurse!”
As Rost was navigating the stress of performing well at work and school, she felt the need to participate in a physically and mentally challenging activity to help keep herself fit and reduce stress. She has always considered herself to be a competitor and credits her brother with pushing her to excel in athletics. Consequently, in 2016 Rost began competing in obstacle-course races as her stress outlet.
“I grew up with an older brother who was a three-sport athlete and ended up playing college football. He never let me make excuses for anything and always challenged me to be my best,” said Rost. “I grew up more like a younger brother than a younger sister. As a result, when I was young, instead of learning how to wear make-up, I learned how to load barbells. I have carried my love for sports and competition with me throughout my entire life, and this, along with the spirit of comradery and teamwork I learned from the military, is what drew me to obstacle-course racing.”
In 2018, Rost took an astonishing second place during her first time competing in the 24-hour World’s Toughest Mudder event. She accomplished her 75-mile goal, and since then she has continued to compete in endurance obstacle course races around the globe, placing third at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championship Enduro in Sydney, Australia, and again placing second at World’s Toughest Mudder 2019. Last year, she also won both the Toughest Mudder East and F.I.T Challenge races. Even with her strenuous schedule caring for patients and helping future AFA students, she continues to train daily and looks forward to upcoming events.
“I have done several endurance races of different lengths, but my favorite are the grueling 24-hour races,” she said. “I am currently training for the Spartan Ultra World Championship in Killington, Vermont, in September, and if my body is up for it, I will compete in the World’s Toughest Mudder in Dallas, Texas, in November.”
Family, friends and co-workers say Rost is a superhero who is accomplishing amazing things every day while managing to stay an incredibly humble person. She is known to consistently have a happy disposition and deep love of coffee. She is currently working on a coffee bar for her new home which she shares with her longtime boyfriend of seven years. When she isn’t working or training, she can be found calling or zooming with friends and loved ones as everyone works to practice social distancing. Just like everyone else, she sometimes struggles with the current state of the world.
“The biggest challenge I am facing is just the emotional rollercoaster of all of this. I know I am certainly not alone in finding this time to be mentally taxing,” said Rost. “My boyfriend is a military physician serving with the 79th Fighter Squadron and is currently deployed at the moment. He and I have been in a long-distance relationship for 6.5 of our 7 years together. We have become pros at communication, but there’s just something about deployments that automatically makes distance more difficult. A lot has happened since he and not a day has gone by where I have not felt like a part of my heart was missing.”
Even with her boyfriend deployed and family out of state in California, Rost says she still has a fabulous support group who she can rely on when times get tough.
“I have been blessed with the 79th FS Tigers Spouse Group. They have been an incredible support system for me through all of this,” said Rost.
As everyone settles into the world's new "normal" and waits for this pandemic to end, people like Erin Rost are on the frontlines making the world a better place through their dedication to excellence and selfless service.
“I love working with nurses they are just like the individuals who are attracted to the military,” said Rost. “They are people who want to serve. Those who are attracted to this profession are similar in that they want help others during the tough times. They look challenges like COVID-19 in the eyes and say, ‘I got this.’ I personally feel honored to be a nurse during the current crisis. While it has presented me with a large number of difficult and unique challenges, I would not want to be anywhere else.”
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2020 14:59 |
| Story ID: | 371562 |
| Location: | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 338 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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