Elexis Brown ’19
Registered Nurse, Surgical and Medical ICU
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
Elexis Brown ’19 is currently working as an nurse in the surgical and medical ICU at Medstar Washington Hospital Center. As a child, she looked up to her older cousin, who wanted to be a doctor and wanted to follow in her footsteps. As she got older, she saw it was the nurses that take care of the patients, and it steered her more toward that profession. The bedside manners, hands-on care with patients, and comforting family members is what she wanted to do.
“I think the pandemic has made things a little scary and stressful.” She has had to adapt to a new norm by dressing in protective gear, disinfecting the nursing station, and changing her clothes before going home because you do not want to bring in anything in your house. “You have to be more cautious in checking on patients, try not to go in and out of their room as often.”
She says, “People need to take this more seriously because this is serious.” She has seen more deaths in her almost one year at the hospital because of this virus. “You need to wash your hands, practice social distancing and stay at home,” she says. This virus affects everyone. “I have friends who are young, and they think this won’t affect them-but it can because you don’t know who has it.”