Hi guys Tammy with NurseMinder here and today we're going to be talking about
covid testing in particular we're going to break down some of the myths
and give some facts about what Covid testing is and
is not right after this
Welcome back my name is Tammy and this is NurseMinder and on this channel we do
everything nursing so if you're new here consider subscribing below so that you
get the next video when it's released. So you're going for covid testing and
you've watched some videos maybe on how they're going to do the test so
by now you likely know that we're going to do either an oral swab
or we're going to do one up your nose and you've probably got
a preference for either one and I will share with you that
the type of swab we use really just depends on what
is sent over to us so we actually don't really know day to day which one we're
going to be able to offer. That aside this video is not about
showing you how the test will be conducted it's
rather more focused on what the test can do and tell you.
So the first myth that I often hear - so I'll first maybe let me just take a
moment back and set the stage shall we. I do work as
a swabber and these opinions do not reflect my
employer and I go, I've run the gamut of emotions
I have been on one side where I am in complete awe and amazement
of the moral obligation that people feel to come and get tested. So
in our province we have open testing which means anyone who's curious wants
to come can have a test which is fabulous and
we see approximately anywhere between 1500 and 2000 people
a day in the site that I work at most commonly,
that's a lot of people and so I get a lot of moments where I can talk with
people and understand what they believe this
test to be and what they don't understand about this test. Now in
terms of covid testing what does this swab actually do?
Why am I going for this so first of all you may be going because you have some
symptoms the most common symptoms we're looking
for are those that are consistent with flu-like
symptoms so our cough our fever runny nose
shortness of breath and sore throat. If you have those, here in Alberta you
are required to isolate while you wait for your results and I don't know if
everybody knows that so if you come in because you
have seasonal allergies maybe you have a chronic cough or you
have medications where the side effect might be that runny nose
prepare to isolate and I think that's one of the myths or maybe mis
under communicated items out there. One of the most common things we hear
when people come into the bay is I'm here because I want to make sure I'm
safe now I can share with you safety is a very broad term
and not something that we're really looking at testing when you come
in for covid in the sense in which people
frame it so let me give you background - when
I asked people what their - what brought them in today so why did they come today
for covid often they'll say well I'm just curious
or I want to make sure I'm safe I appreciate both of those and I think
sometimes when people say I just want to make sure I'm safe they're just not
articulating really the full sentiment there but, but
I hear it so often throughout the day that I thought it was worthy of a few
conversations so safety in the moment you're with me
I can give you information on but I can't tell you what happened in the past
two weeks and I can't tell you what's going to
happen the moment you leave my bay and so when people say they want to know
that they're safe so they can go and visit grandma,
that they're safe so they can go and attend a wedding,
that they're safe so they can travel to another province,
or they've just come back from and they want to make sure they're safe to go
back into their household with their family,
I really feel like a lot of education is needed in that moment
to make sure people understand that this test is not about safety
in the future, it's about right now this moment. Do you have covid?
So when it comes to safety there's a lot more to ensuring your safety than having
a covid screening swab done it means
wear your mask when you can't maintain your six feet apart,
it means wash your hands and it means distancing. Okay so when you're going to
these functions to be with people really be mindful that that swabbing
test does not give you permission to ignore
all of these yes. So I'll give you my spiel
about what the covid test is and is not. This is an important element because we
have a lot of people coming in who are not informed. I don't feel it's
well explained out there as to what this test really is
and so here it goes when you sit in my bay I'm going to talk to you about how
this particular test this swab that we're going to do today is a point in
time assessment. What does that mean? It means do you have
the covid virus today in this moment? Where you are,
sitting with me, and why is that important? Well the
research shows us that we know it takes up to 14 days for a body to launch a
response so anywhere in the previous two weeks
before you've come to see me if you've had contact with the virus
your body may or may not have a response at this point
and in particular we do get some people who come in and it will be
we just saw some people last night went out for dinner and we want to make sure
we're safe today. The test is, the test is not going to
tell you that you're safe for the future it's going to tell you do
you have covid today and we know that it usually takes three
to five days for a person to actually show
signs of the infection and so if you just saw somebody last night,
no no this test is not going to show that you are safe
because it will take you up to two weeks to know if
that one encounter was problematic for you. So just think about
that all the encounters you have in a
two-week time frame, going to check the mail, going to buy
your milk, accepting a delivery at the door,
taking care of your kids who are out at the neighbors playing,
you happen to walk past somebody outdoors and there's a breeze and so we
know that particles will travel farther in a breeze.
There's so many potential ways and places that you can come in contact with
not just covid we talk a lot about covid right
now there's a lot of other illnesses that are passed on in this manner,
but the moment you sit down with me in my bay
I'm only assessing that moment. So that means the moment you leave my
bay the test result that you're going to get in three days or four days or five
days is already obsolete - okay because from
the moment you leave I don't know who you've come in contact
with. I don't know what's going on with you and you may already be infected from
another source and in a few days you can become
symptomatic and go on to develop covid. So it's important that people know
point in time really means we're taking a picture.
Right, then and there it's like taking an x-ray do you have a broken bone today?
Some people have a broken bone and don't even know it and they come in and they
get an x-ray and they go huh you broke your bone and some people as
soon as they leave they're going to slip and trip
and fall and they're going to break their bone but in the moment with me
do you have a broken bone? That's really what we're assessing for covid.
Do you have the virus today? Well I hope that helps you understand a little bit
more about what the covid test is and is not and what we might be asking
of you when you come in. Don't forget the three
pillars of prevention: masking, hand hygiene,
and social distancing. See you at the swabbing station! Hey I know you're
probably not ready to get off your phone or go back to work just yet or maybe
even turn the lights off to go to sleep so
why don't you spend a little bit more time here watching another video :)