Interview with nurse costa
ALICIA COSTA
She/Her/Hers
Ethnicity: Korean/Portuguese American
Occupation: Licensed Vocational Nurse
Location: Bay Area, CA
"It's a constant battle and I'm still learning how to find a healthy balance between keeping work separate from my personal life."
July 28, 2020, 4:00 PM PDT
By Jimmy Pham
Alicia Costa works as a licensed vocational nurse in the Bay Area, one of the epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. LVNs like Alicia must provide the basic comfort of care and treatment towards the people they serve. As the coronavirus continues to sweep the globe, Alicia, along with other Asian healthcare workers, are not only fighting the coronavirus but racism that is intensified in the country.
Pham: What inspired you to be a licensed vocational nurse?
Alicia: I was surrounded by loved ones who were in and out of the hospital and I think I just became really familiar with the hospital setting and I got to see firsthand like how nurses impact the lives of their patients and I really wanted to be a part of that to have the privilege to be the light in someone's darkest and lowest points in their life.
Interview Highlights
Pham: What has been the heartbreaking story or experience for you amidst all this?
Alicia: I think because it's still fresh in my mind right now, just a recent passing of a COVID-19 patient. I think it's not one experience, but just the overall sadness of seeing people not being able to be with anyone during the last moments of their life.
Pham: As an Asian American, have you ever faced racial discrimination during coronavirus? (and how does it feel to you as a healthcare worker?)
Alicia: Yes, unfortunately, and it's quite frustrating. You know as healthcare workers, we risk our health and our life in order to care for others only to be vilified and berated because of what I look like or what they assume what my ethnicity is or what it actually is. I had patients throw items at me, throw punches at me, throw racial slurs, and even refuse me as their nurse, stating that my people and I are the reason why they're suffering.
Pham: Any words of advice or inspiration you would like to share with other healthcare workers who may be coping with similar challenges? (and the Asian American community as a whole?)
Alicia: All I can say is really is just keep showing up, keep pushing, keep empowering one another, and supporting each other. Continue being the light and being the advocates for just everyone around you: your patients, your friends, family, and coworkers because ways can't be made alone, you have push together as one.