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Once again, it is a nurse who has taken the Ebola media spotlight this week. Kaci Hickox, a nurse who cared for Ebola patients in Sierra Leone found herself quarantined against her will in New Jersey upon her return to the US, in spite of the fact that she tested negative for the virus. After a 3 day isolation in less than desirable accommodations, she was transported home where she was supposed to remain under home quarantine but is now declaring that the quarantine is unnecessary and counterproductive, and is openly defying the order by going out in public.
Additional breaches in voluntary quarantine from those returning from Ebola-plagued Africa occurred when NBC medical correspondent, Dr. Nancy Snyderman in New Jersey and Dr. Craig Spencer in New York left their homes and ventured out into public spaces.
On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called for voluntary home quarantine for workers with the highest risk for Ebola infection. It also specified that most medical personnel returning from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea would not need to be kept in isolation.
In spite of this, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, mandated a 21-day mandatory quarantine policy for all healthcare workers exposed to Ebola. Although this move has received much criticism, it did get the support of Dr. Bruce Beutler, an American doctor and researcher and Nobel Prize winner for Medicine and Physiology for his work researching the the body’s overall immune system. He is currently the Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense at the University of Texas Southwestern Center in Dallas. He favors Christie’s quarantine policy “because it’s not entirely clear that they can’t transmit the disease,” referring to asymptomatic healthcare workers like Kaci Hickox.
New York and Illinois have also have followed suit and mandated mandatory 21-day home quarantine policies. Although there is plenty of scientific evidence indicating there’s very little chance that a random person will contract Ebola unless they touch bodily fluids of an infected person, the thought is that the authorities need to do something to calm Americans’ fears. As Mike Osterholm, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, says, "You want to try to eliminate not just real risk, but perceived risk."
There are thoughts on both sides of this issue which has led to heated discussions at times. There are concerns about the potential impact with both pathways of re-entry requirements for Ebola healthcare workers. What are your thoughts about this? Please take our survey to share your opinions. Let your voice be heard.
Does the fact that he has a Nobel Prize somehow make his opinions facts for you? If he suddenly opines about gynecology, does that make him the Gyno Guru? Why do you care so much about this one physician's opinion? Is he a relative? I am just wondering why you are beating everyone over the head with this. Honestly, we get the "Nobel Prize" part, you've repeated it ad nauseam.
Who is exactly thumbing their nose at the situation? This nurse has gone above and beyond to alleviate everyone's fear while still trying to maintain her civil rights. She is still avoiding public places, and shown nothing but respect for everyone involved. The same respect cannot be said for the Governor of Maine as well as several other politicians.
The people that are fanning people's fears are the politicians that are using this to gain votes by catering to public fears instead of educating the public and showing there is nothing to fear.
Wouldn't it have been a lot better if the Governor of Maine went out to meet this nurse shook her hand and showed the public that there is nothing to fear?
In my opininion, Kaci Hickox has not "gone above and beyond to alleviate everyone's fear". The image that she presents through the media doesn't make her look good; IMHO it makes her look the OPPOSITE of that. *I* know what she's doing, and why. I'm on her side, actually, where her civil liberties are concerned, and why giving in to political pressure would be stupid.
However, she doesn't come across well, as can be attested to by the people who tell me what THEY see when they look at her and hear from her. Heck, my own husband, who is far more informed of the situation than what I'd call the 'average public', thinks she looks like "an idiot". A little harsh, but that's his impression of her attitude in all this. While she's not "an idiot"....I cannot deny that to many, this is how she is perceived, that's all.
In my opininion, Kaci Hickox has not "gone above and beyond to alleviate everyone's fear". The image that she presents through the media doesn't make her look good; IMHO it makes her look the OPPOSITE of that. *I* know what she's doing, and why. I'm on her side, actually, where her civil liberties are concerned, and why giving in to political pressure would be stupid.
However, she doesn't come across well, as can be attested to be the people who tell me what THEY see when they look at her and hear from her. Heck, my own husband, who is far more informed of the situation than what I'd call the 'average public', thinks she looks like "an idiot". A little harsh, but that's his impression of her attitude in all this. While she's not "an idiot"....I cannot deny that to many, this is how she is perceived, that's all.
Are you sure it isn't the news source/editing that you are looking at? Everything I have seen seems to have her being very empathetic to public concerns and stating her case well. I cannot imagine that her lawyers would permit her to say anything derogatory that would damage their case credibility.
Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.
In my opininion, Kaci Hickox has not "gone above and beyond to alleviate everyone's fear". The image that she presents through the media doesn't make her look good; IMHO it makes her look the OPPOSITE of that. *I* know what she's doing, and why. I'm on her side, actually, where her civil liberties are concerned, and why giving in to political pressure would be stupid.
However, she doesn't come across well, as can be attested to be the people who tell me what THEY see when they look at her and hear from her. Heck, my own husband, who is far more informed of the situation than what I'd call the 'average public', thinks she looks like "an idiot". A little harsh, but that's his impression of her attitude in all this. While she's not "an idiot"....I cannot deny that to many, this is how she is perceived, that's all.
Are you sure it isn't the news source/editing that you are looking at? Everything I have seen seems to have her being very empathetic to public concerns and stating her case well. I cannot imagine that her lawyers would permit her to say anything derogatory that would damage their case credibility.
Regardless of the sources, and the editing process, her image is what it is. Unfortunately, she DOES have a POOR image in the general media. Whether or not she has fans on AN doesn'tmuch matter if we're talking about the Court of Public Opinion.
She is right. But she isn't seen as pioneering for education of the masses, she comes across as arrogant and self-centered. *I* am not saying that's how she might really be. I AM saying that she is NO HERO to the general public, and she is doing nothing to change that image. It only seems to get worse as time goes by.
Regardless of the sources, and the editing process, her image is what it is. Unfortunately, she DOES have a POOR image in the general media. Whether or not she has fans her on AN doesn'tmuch matter if we're talking about the Court of Public Opinion.
She is right. But she isn't seen as pioneering for education of the masses, she comes across as arrogant and self-centered. *I* am not saying that's how she might really be. I AM saying that she is NO HERO to the general public, and she is doing nothing to change that image. It only seems to get worse as time goes by.
What I am saying is the public opinion directly comes from the news media and its slant on the subject. So, if Fox news or CNN etc. doesn't favor her opinion then they are going to edit the interviews to support that bias.
What I am saying the public opinion directly comes from the news media and its slant on the subject. So, if Fox news or CNN etc. doesn't favor her opinion then they are going to edit the interviews to support that bias.
I understand, really. And while I assure you I don't get my information from Fox (actually, that network is good entertainment value, IMHO!), it really doesn't matter what *I* think, nor to be honest, what you think.
The public, by and large, DOES NOT think she is a beacon of hope for the healthcare community. We won't disagree that public images should not be the end-all, be-all for how we all behave, BUT it cannot be disputed what the AVERAGE public DOES think of her. And it ain't pretty. She's "that stupid nurse" and "that selfish nurse" and "that arrogant nurse". But, unfortunately for all of us who are ALSO nurses....their negative adjectives are always in front of the word 'nurse'
I understand, really. And while I assure you I don't get my information from Fox (actually, that network is good entertainment value, IMHO!), it really doesn't matter what *I* think, nor to be honest, what you think.
The public, by and large, DOES NOT think she is a beacon of hope for the healthcare community. We won't disagree that public images should not be the end-all, be-all for how we all behave, BUT it cannot be disputed what the AVERAGE public DOES think of her. And it ain't pretty. She's "that stupid nurse" and "that selfish nurse" and "that arrogant nurse". But, unfortunately for all of us who are ALSO nurses....their negative adjectives are always in front of the word 'nurse'
Okay, so post a scientific survey that supports your opinion then. You are still just stating your opinion. It maybe right and maybe wrong.
I think people are reevaluating their opinion on ebola and this nurse since everything has started to calm down, she won her court case, and World War Z hasn't broken out.
elkpark
14,633 Posts
(No, the appeal is that he agrees with her.)