I’m fatigued.
Since March of 2020, healthcare workers around the globe have worked around the clock to provide treatment to patients affected by Covid-19. Whether it’s nurses and physicians working in acute and intensive care, or allied health professionals providing rehabilitative treatment. There has been an exponential demand in services throughout. And many of those demands cannot be met. I sympathize with my colleagues and other professionals that have continued to work throughout this pandemic, often while completely burnt-out. While the medical industry has grown rapidly since the latter part of the 20th century, much of the healthcare system is still stuck in an archaic system, affected by politics and bureaucracy. Many hospitals and clinics lack the resources necessary to provide treatment to not only Covid-19 patients, but to those in poor health, suffering from illness and disease. On top of that, a very large, and vocal portion of the population refuses to follow or adhere to public health guidelines. Vaccines for the novel Coronavirus have been available to the general public, and in great supply, yet many individuals refuse to take the vaccine, often relying on information from online sources that lack credibility to back claims that are made.
So when people ask me how I feel as an allied healthcare worker during this time I say the same thing: I’m fatigued. I have seen the toll that this pandemic has had on the lives of many around me. From other therapists to the patients and clients that I work with. People have lost jobs and businesses all together. While I am optimistic that things are beginning to improve and that there is a new sense of normalcy that is developing, it feels odd that a whole year has gone by like this. And the health burnout is real.
These events got me to really think and evaluate the healthcare system and the workers that belong to it. Many health care workers attach their sense of self to their career. When a patient suffers it affects them, both mentally and physically. And when you are pushed to the limit, with limited resources as well, is it any wonder that someone would want to call it quits? There’s more to life than a career in healthcare. It’s not worth being cheered on as a hero by the general populace, only to see that same group avoid actually helping healthcare workers by doing their part. At least that’s the way that I see it. I take great joy in the work that I do. I am humbled by the many advancements that are made in medicine and what I continue to learn through my colleagues and peers. But my career doesn’t define me. And this pandemic highlights that now more than ever.
Until next time,
Sandeep