For most of his life, Sebastian Collins wanted to be a
scientist. It wasn't until he started studying biology and
chemistry that he realized he wanted more than writing
papers and applying for grants in his future.
He wanted an empathic connection with people.
"My wife is a PSW, so I started with that and wanted to
keep going so I became a nurse," he says.
Sebastian completed the Georgian/York Bachelor of
Science in Nursing collaborative program in 2019, less
than a year before COVID-19 began to wreak havoc
on the world. One of the most valuable lessons he was
taught was how to maintain a deep connection with his
patients.
"Georgian was fantastic for skills and technical aspects,
but I think the biggest thing for me was that Georgian
had a real focus on caring and empathy, maintaining
humanity throughout your care," he recalls. "I think
that has been difficult for some people with COVID-19.
All these extra precautions have kind of put a barrier
between us and the patient. Georgian's training has
helped me maintain my empathic connection to my
patients."
For Sebastian, who is a Staff Nurse with Muskoka
Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) on the Medical and
Surgical floor and COVID-19 unit at the South Muskoka
Memorial Site in Bracebridge, the pandemic has given
him the opportunity to use these skills to provide
comfort to patients who are alone and afraid.
"As long as we're wearing our proper protection gear,
we can still be up close with a patient, using therapeutic
touch to help them feel less afraid and to feel like there
are still people around," he says. "For a lot of these
people, especially the ones with dementia, they feel
alone with not being able to have visitors. So making
them feel that they're not alone, that there's someone
there caring for them, I think, is very important."
Sebastian was also able to provide input into the
creation of COVID-19 policies and procedures at MAHC
as they were being developed. Although it is still
early in his nursing journey, he already had experience
developing COVID-19 health-care protocols as a
member of a nursing team in a small community in
northern Ontario, called Attawapiskat, during his first
year after graduation.
"It was quite an interesting journey," he recalls. "It's an
amazing and rewarding thing to do."
He came back to his home in Muskoka after a year to
join his wife and was quickly hired by MAHC. And, he
continues to fulfil his life's purpose.
"The most important thing for me is making the world a
better place and you can do that in a really direct way
when you're providing that empathic care to people."
16 GEORGIANVIEW 2021 SPRING
#GCHeroes
EMPATHIC HEALTH CARE DURING COVID-19
Sebastian Collins, class of 2019
