Former Bruins who became healthcare professionals cite attention to detail, competitiveness, preparation and time management as skills learned through athletics now being implemented during the COV…
Brittani McCullough chose to work in pediatrics because of the joy that comes from seeing a child smile and laugh.
She remembers that feeling as she puts on exam gloves, a cloth mask, plastic eye shield-like goggles and a cloth gown over her scrubs. She takes a breath and smiles. She knows no one can see her smile under the mask but she hopes it will help.
It doesn’t. From the backseat of a car, her patient, a young child, sees her and bursts into tears and screams. McCullough understands her protective gear can make her look more like a threat than a nurse.
“It’s a lot of crying and screaming,” she said. “When kids are scared, that is what they do. It’s the only way they really can express it.”
When patients have symptoms relative to those of the coronavirus, McCullough is forced to do check-ups and examinations from the safety of the patient’s car instead of potentially spreading the virus inside the clinic.
Beginning with what she can see, McCullough begins to note every detail of the situation. Any presumed physical symptoms of the kid and or of the parent behind the wheel. She listens when the child tells her what feels wrong and what hurts. But it’s when she listens to the parent that her skill for paying attention to minute details takes over.
Brittani McCullough, who competed for the Bruins gymnastics team from 2007-2011, works as a pediatric nurse. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)
It’s something she learned how to do through competing as a UCLA gymnast. Back then, it was remembering to always point her toes and keep her back straight. Now, as a pediatric nurse practitioner in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s listening to the level of concern behind every parent’s voice.
“Hearing the concern in their voice makes a difference in how important this is to them and how concerned I should also be, because if a parent is concerned and they’re with their child all day every day, that means there is something I should really hone in on and pay attention to,” McCullough said.
