FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
  • scga.org
SCGA JuniorSummer 2020
Home›SCGA Junior›SCGA Junior Scholars Saving Lives on the Front Lines

SCGA Junior Scholars Saving Lives on the Front Lines

By Hailey Tucker
July 24, 2020
3164
0
Share:

Nurses are always essential workers, putting themselves before others, staying calm during a crisis and committing to always learning something new. This has never been more true than during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. For two SCGA Junior Scholar alumni, there are many lessons from the game that they’ve applied to their careers as nurses during this unprecedented time.

Kenny Punyasavatsut has been working as a geriatric nurse for two years at Pomona Valley Medical Center. Christie Spann has been an ER nurse for a year at Corona Regional Medical Center. Both grew up playing golf in SCGA Junior programs and earned college scholarships that helped them pursue their dreams of working in the medical field. And both have seen their day-to-day lives turned upside down because of COVID-19.

“During this pandemic and the situations surrounding it, it’s important to take it one moment at a time,” Spann said. “It’s easy to be hard on yourself and let all the external factors settle in. With golf and nursing, you can’t doubt your practice or let all the stress around you hinder you from giving it your best shot.”

The past few months have been especially difficult for Spann who has lost both her father and grandmother this year.
“Emotionally, I am drained and exhausted,” she said. “I got my training in the top richmond hill first aid program completed and now I see my dad in my patients, especially when I am doing CPR and aiding in intubation.”

With the influx of COVID-19 patients, Spann’s role in the ER changed to account for new needs. With additional safety measures in place, it often takes longer for Spann and her colleagues to be able to help a new patient. She’s now used to additional safety gear, leaving her shoes outside her house and showering as soon as she gets home.

Punyasavatsut has experienced similar changes in his routine. In a hospital where personal protective equipment (PPE) was always stocked, things are now in short supply. Working with a highly affected group, he has since seen an increase in COVID-19 cases and the fallout for families who are no longer able to visit their sick relatives in the hospital.

“More of the patients coming in were getting sicker,” Punyasavatsut said. “Seeing COVID patients struggle to breathe has been difficult, but it makes my job rewarding once I see them recover over time.”

As with Spann, the pandemic has affected Punyasavatsut outside the hospital just as much as it’s changed his daily work life. With a father who retired at the beginning of the year and a mother who has been recently laid off, Punyasavatsut is the main supporter for his parents.

“I’m worried about my parents’ health during the pandemic,” he said. “I always make sure to practice social distancing from them and to sanitize any high-touch surfaces within our apartment. COVID is always on my mind now when I need to go outside for necessary items. Not seeing my relatives and sister in person for almost half a year has been difficult.”

The passion that both Punyasavatsut and Spann feel for their families is clear when they discuss the mentality that they bring to work with them day in and day out. Caring, practicing and learning are all words that they use frequently.

IT’S EASY TO BE HARD ON YOURSELF AND LET ALL THE EXTERNAL FACTORS SETTLE IN. WITH GOLF AND NURSING, YOU CAN’T DOUBT YOUR PRACTICE OR LET ALL THE STRESS AROUND YOU HINDER YOU FROM GIVING IT YOUR BEST SHOT. -Christie Spann

In addition to family and professional responsibilities, both have been dedicated volunteers at SCGA Junior events, even after they graduated from college. And they’ve taken the lessons that they learned on the course with them.

“As a golfer, you take one hole at a time and you don’t let whatever happened on the previous hole (good or bad) affect your performance on the next hole,” Spann said. “Similarly, in the ER, especially during this crisis, you jump from patient to patient and you take each day at a time. Each patient is different and can either be a positive or negative case. When a patient passes, it is rough to go through and we mourn the loss of someone’s loved one. We carry those patients in our hearts, but we try not to let that be carried over to the next patient.”

Putting themselves before others, staying calm during a crisis, committing to always learning something new; it’s what Spann and Punyasavatsut have done for years on the golf course. Now they are doing it in a hospital.

“Being compassionate with my patients, actively listening to them, and critically thinking to solve a problem in the hospital is like hitting a golf ball and trying to figure out how to get it close to the hole,” Punyasavatsut said. “Especially during the pandemic.”

Previous Article

Action Amid Uncertainty

Next Article

Call to the Hall: Susie Berning Gets ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Hailey Tucker

Related articles More from author

  • Summer 2020Travel

    Wisconsin’s Wonders

    July 24, 2020
    By Joe Passov
  • Classic CourseSummer 2020

    Classic Course: History Reimagined

    July 24, 2020
    By Joe Passov
  • Fall 2016SCGA Junior

    The Rewards of Giving Back: For One Hacienda GC Member, a Junior Play Day Sparked a Passion

    October 24, 2016
    By Julia Pine
  • Summer 2020Trends

    Club Spotlight: On Your Own Schedule

    July 24, 2020
    By Scott Fluhler
  • SCGA JuniorSummer 2022

    Giving Back to the Game: Lizette Salas Makes It Her Mission to Uplift Youth

    July 22, 2022
    By Jill Painter Lopez
  • SCGA Junior Champion
    SCGA JuniorWinter 2016

    Set for Success: Already Accomplished, Alyaa Abdulghany Aims for the Next Level

    January 1, 2016
    By Julia Pine

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Fall 2022FeaturedGolf Groups

    Club Spotlight: SCGC Players Club

  • 19th HoleFall 2022Featured

    Feast for the Senses: Fairmont Grand Del Mar Clubhouse Grill

  • Fall 2022FeaturedProfiles

    Bradford Wilson Wants to Talk: SoCal Social Media Star Champions Golf and Therapy (and Not in That Order)

  • EquipmentFall 2022Featured

    Direct to Golf Consumer: How Social Media is Changing the Way We Buy Equipment

  • Fall 2022FeaturedProfiles

    Designed for a Champion: Q&A with Architect Gil Hanse

Fall 2022FeaturedHandicap Hints

Handicap Allowances

There is often anticipation in the air as the date for the next handicap competition at a club approaches. Participants want to know what handicap value will be used in ...
  • The Single Life: The Simple Pleasures of Being “That Guy”

    By John DeGomez
    October 25, 2022
  • Cut! Rulings Hollywood Got Wrong

    By Jeff Ninnemann
    October 25, 2022
  • From Crisis to Confidence: The Southern California Golf & Water Summit

    By Craig Kessler
    October 25, 2022
  • Direct to Golf Consumer: How Social Media is Changing the Way We Buy Equipment

    By Scott Kramer
    October 25, 2022
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise