Press Herald interviews Frank about applying lessons from wrestling to nursing

The Portland Press Herald interviewed Samantha Frank, a former University of Maine nursing student and four-time national female wrestling champion, about how the lessons she learned as an athlete translated to her work as a nurse during the coronavirus outbreak. Frank, a registered nurse with the cardiovascular progressive care unit at Mercy Hospital, Portland, said “You have to be resilient, you have to be stronger and you have to move forward. We bring that to every new case we get.” Frank, who graduated from UMaine in 2018, also said lessons about teamwork and preparation she learned from wrestling play a vital role in her profession during the pandemic. “When you go into a room by yourself, you’re putting all your practices to work,” she said. “You have to prepare and plan ahead and think about what you’re bringing into that room. And you have to time it so you get everything done and limit your time in the room and your exposure.”