1/ The CDC tried to balance public health with what people are willing to do in its COVID isolation/quarantine policy.
Yes, everyone is exhausted of living through this pandemic.
But what about what healthcare workers are willing & able to do? to keep doing?
Yes, everyone is exhausted of living through this pandemic.
But what about what healthcare workers are willing & able to do? to keep doing?
2/ Healthcare workers are just like everyone else:
We've lost loved ones to COVID.
Some of us have gotten sick or died from COVID.
Some of us or our family members have lost their jobs to COVID.
Some of us have kids in school & have had to navigate hybrid learning, too.
We've lost loved ones to COVID.
Some of us have gotten sick or died from COVID.
Some of us or our family members have lost their jobs to COVID.
Some of us have kids in school & have had to navigate hybrid learning, too.
3/ But in some ways, we're not like everyone else:
Many of us went into the pandemic already burned out by an increasingly toxic business of medicine that prioritizes $ over patients.
We've had to work overtime to care for sick & dying patients.
Many of us went into the pandemic already burned out by an increasingly toxic business of medicine that prioritizes $ over patients.
We've had to work overtime to care for sick & dying patients.
4/ We've suffered moral injury: having to make decisions about who got an ICU bed or access to other scarce resources; being asked to administer treatments like ivermectin & hydroxychloroquine, for which there is no scientific basis.
We've been harassed & attacked.
We've been harassed & attacked.
5/ After the 1st couple months of the pandemic, people stopped showing appreciation.
They stopped cheering out windows & clanging pots & pans.
They stopped thanking us for our service.
Some started seeing us as the enemy.
They stopped cheering out windows & clanging pots & pans.
They stopped thanking us for our service.
Some started seeing us as the enemy.
6/ The public has been insulated from healthcare worker burnout, moral injury, & exhaustion to date.
We have a very strong sense of professionalism that goes beyond "do no harm."
And that makes us more likely to be victimized: by health systems & by the public.
We have a very strong sense of professionalism that goes beyond "do no harm."
And that makes us more likely to be victimized: by health systems & by the public.
7/ We've shouldered the burden of a public unwilling to take personal responsibility for their actions.
But I'm not sure how much longer healthcare workers will be willing & able to keep doing this.
Their suffering is very real:
washingtonpost.com/nation/interac…
But I'm not sure how much longer healthcare workers will be willing & able to keep doing this.
Their suffering is very real:
washingtonpost.com/nation/interac…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
