I'm Out... (Cue Mic Drop)

[J.Adderton]

In my home state of Alabama, only 33% of residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.  The state's healthcare workers are feeling a punch to the gut as new coronavirus cases have climbed 574% over a short period of time.  Fueled by the delta variant, the state's hospitalization rate has tripled in a few short weeks.  I echo the words of many in the medical community by saying "I don't know if I can do this again".

Universally Affected

I work in a hospital, but not on a unit that provides direct care to COVID-19 positive patients. Earlier in the pandemic, I felt guilty whenever burn out began to creep in.  I often thought "Shouldn't burn out be reserved for those caring for COVID patients day after day?”  Today, Alabama's new daily case rate mimics the same numbers as 12 months ago.  And, I now realize everyone working in healthcare has been affected both personally and professionally by coronavirus.  What led up to my own professional mic drop moment?

• Caring for patients with devastating long hauler syndrome
• Maintaining a high standard of care without adequate staffing, supplies and other resources
• Working routine overtime because of your own personal responsibility to support your peers
• Facing the words "there is no one", "you'll have to make do" and "you have no choice" when asking the house supervisor for additional help
• No pay increase in the past 18 months
• Hope that disappears when large numbers of new hires resign within the first 4 weeks
• Frequent floating with high nurse patient ratios
• Alarming number of rapid response calls and code blues

Nurses are only  part of an exhausted healthcare community.  We are joined by food and environmental services, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, physicians, nursing assistants, patient services... and the list goes on.

Public Pleas

A string of public pleas have been issued throughout the state, imploring the unvaccinated to seek vaccination.  The frustration is almost palpable in each plea.

Governor's Harsh Words

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey had harsh words for the state's unvaccinated, stating "these folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain".  Ivey went on to blame the state's unvaccinated population for the rising coronavirus cases.

Quote

"But it's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks.  It's the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down”- Governor Kay Ivey

Alabama received billions in relief funds as part of the stimulus package passed the year.  However, the state is not using the federal relief for incentive programs like scholarships and lotteries.  According to the National Governors Association, Alabama is offering a few small incentives: 

• The Talladega Superspeedway is offering the opportunity to drive 2 laps behind a pace car for being tested and/or vaccinated.
• The Alabama Department of Public Health is sponsoring a TikTok contest to encourage vaccination before the start of the new school year.  Four winners will be selected and each will receive a $250 Visa gift card.

Doctor's Emotional Plea

Dr. Brytney Cobia, a hospitalist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, posted an emotional plea for vaccination on facebook that has made news across the U.S.  Cobia wrote the post after caring for young healthy patients with very serious COVID infections. She describes patients begging for the vaccine right before they are intubated.  She writes, "I hold their hand and tell them that I'm sorry, but it's too late".  You can read Dr. Cobia's full post here.

Tuskegee Tragedy Lingers

Many Black Alabamians have a deep seeded mistrust of the medical community stemming from the Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male. In 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service recruited hundreds of rural Black men to participate in a syphilis study, but never explained that the study was designed to withhold medical treatment.  Study participants were not injected with syphilis, but those who had it were not treated, even when penicillin was available.  The suffering caused by the unethical study still echoes today, despite federal laws that prohibit this from occurring again.  This tragedy contributes to vaccination hesitancy within the state.

Mounting Personal Toll

I'm not alone in questioning my ability to withstand another COVID-19 surge in my current nursing position.  Healthcare workers are experiencing burn-out in high numbers and reporting significant psychological distress. Many are responding to the stress and trauma by misusing alcohol and other substances.  It's time for professional organizations and the healthcare industry to do more to support workers moving forward. 

What About You?

Are you considering a mic-drop departure from your workplace?  What do you need to reverse your burn-out?

---

References

In Tuskegee, Painful History Shadows Efforts To Vaccinate African Americans

[turtlesRcool]

20 minutes ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Like I said...the majority of those fools who come to share covid propaganda on AN are functioning in a delusion.  It's likely that they suffer from gullibility in other areas of their lives as well.  They don't think...at least not critically...about or through any of this science.  They are lead by their feelings and beliefs rather than facts and evidence. Much of their politically influenced thinking is not reality based...it's narrowly informed and emotional founded. 

We are in violent agreement on that. But that also means they're not indifferent to the suffering of others or plan to cavalierly waltz into a hospital and contribute to the overcrowding. They legitimately do not believe COVID is making people sick to the point of overwhelming hospitals. They do not believe the situation is "as bad as the media portrays it" in hotspots. They do not believe they are in danger.

Last Winter there was a nurse in ND who went viral on social media talking about the level of denial of those coming into the hospital. People were literally dying of COVID, and still didn't believe they had it. They were grasping at straws, insisting it was the flu or maybe lung cancer. It was not reality based at all, but it also wasn't malicious.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

We are heading at a breakneck pace right toward another mandatory lockdown. I am fortunately in an area that has a reasonably high vaccination rate accompanied by a not surprisingly reasonably low infection rate. Even here there are whispers slowly progressing toward conversations that I am now assuming will eventually reach a loud call to shut everything down again.

Sad because the local restaurants/bars are finally starting to financially recover from the last lockdown. Their biggest problem now is lack of staff and several are reducing hours of operation simply because they don't have enough staff.  One local restaurant famed for being featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives simply closed due to lack of enough staff to maintain their operating hours.

[11blade, RN]

I'm a month ahead of you, gal. I was working with nurses, technicians and surgeons that felt they didn't have to mask up at work, including in a cysto case! Six months prior to my working with them, the military was in their hospital to help with the Covid surge. I approached management (all levels in the OR, up to Director) about the increase risk to patients and my own health working around people that weren't following the rules. I got lip service and no action. I finally walked out on a contract (with LOTS of notice), and I'm done working as an RN. I will be driving a truck for potato and beet harvest in Minnesota and North Dakota next month.

Long term, I don't see my future being retired in this country. Talking with family (NEVER imagined I would do this!) about liquidating U.S. assets (property, vehicles) and moving back to Canada.

[toomuchbaloney]

The greater Dallas area is struggling to maintain adequate bed space and staffing for pediatric patients.  This is quite a horrific social experiment that the unvaccinated are forcing upon children.  I wonder if they consider themselves pro-life while imagining that most identify that way. 

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

29 minutes ago, toomuchbaloney said:

The greater Dallas area is struggling to maintain adequate bed space and staffing for pediatric patients.  This is quite a horrific social experiment that the unvaccinated are forcing upon children.  I wonder if they consider themselves pro-life while imagining that most identify that way. 

Yep, Dallas and surrounding suburbs are out of pediatric ICU beds. And we have a LOT of hospitals in this region. Heaven forbid your kid gets into a car accident, has a non-covid related illness or surgery or other problem. Too bad. I'm trying not to be overly negative, but I am concerned about my daughter's future stepson. He's 3 years old, as sweet and cute as can be, and he is at the mercy of our community's behavior. Which at present, isn't all that stellar. I'm praying he stays healthy, because if he doesn't, he could be SOL.

[11blade, RN]

16 hours ago, kbrn2002 said:

1 hour ago, 11blade said:

 

'We are heading at a breakneck pace right toward another mandatory lockdown"

I don't think that is doable, politically or logistically. There is no political will to institute or enforce the measures that were used last year, even if they might help stem the spread. The politicians will be crowing about job-killing in the next election less than a year away. The business cycle decline is now cooked into the economy with the loss of 600,000 plus and counting consumers, including people that were spending money to keep the economy growing. Commercial investment (real estate) is in limbo, which has frozen all those assets in place until people start paying rent again, or, evictions begin. Covid with trade partners (Canada, China) has interrupted supply lines, also sucking money out of the system. Yesterday, China shutdown another major shipping port over workers with COVID coming in contact with sailors. I'm sitting in place, out of state, away from my home, unable to travel because Firestone stopped producing the air Spring that failed on my RV a month ago. I have lost a month's wages, waiting, not to mention the countless hours on the phone trying to source a part that they don't make anymore. I was able to get the engineer team at the company that made the suspension to look at other company's aftermarket products and FINALLY found one that passed their specs, AND, is in stock! I've learned in the past month, from talking to heavy truck parts suppliers from Alaska-Michigan-California-Canada that there are transport trucks sitting in lots for 6 months and counting, also waiting on parts. Worse than that, the mechanic shop that can do the scope of work (I've used them before) lost 50% of their workforce to COVID. One mechanic succumbed, another still sick and unable to work. The last operating room job I was at had 'backorders' on many commonly used surgical items.  It SUCKS to tell a surgeon he just used the last staple load on a bowel and he'll have to use something else 'close' in size. People, this country's commerce is grinding to a halt! And, it has nothing to do with ordered shutdowns. The dysfunction is baked into the system at this point. Until everyone that can get vaccinated does, the rest of us who are aren't spending money unless we have to.

 

[toomuchbaloney]

3 minutes ago, 11blade said:

People, this country's commerce is grinding to a halt! And, it has nothing to do with ordered shutdowns. The dysfunction is baked into the system at this point. Until everyone that can get vaccinated does, the rest of us who are aren't spending money unless we have to.

Covidiocy has all manner of people thinking that we can enjoy a fully open economy and educational system without achieving vaccine mediated herd immunity to this novel virus.  It's stunning really.  Listen to the White House press briefings and you will discover that those journalists apparently haven't realized that the level of disease spread is in control of all of that.  It's no wonder then, that they are almost completely unable to convey that fundamental message to the public...there will be no return to anything resembling pre-covid business or education until the pandemic is ended.  We are far from the end at this moment in time no matter how hopeful we were in the Spring.  Until the people living in denial, fear and fantasy vaccinate the country will suffer. 

[11blade, RN]

11 minutes ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Take that realization as the gift it is. After a year and a half of trying to discuss the concept of why the virus will keep infecting with 'educated' folks, I've just given up and put more effort into acquiring the necessities of life so that I won't have to interact with virus-carriers during outbreaks such as this. THIS is the time to stock up on the toilet paper, beans, rice, etc. because this Winter is going to be worse than last. When the 'herd' does figure it out, they all pile into the stores....

 "Listen to the White House press briefings and you will discover that those journalists apparently haven't realized that the level of disease spread is in control of all of that.  It's no wonder then, that they are almost completely unable to convey that fundamental message to the public.."

 

[capitalsfan83, BSN]

I'm not at all surprised that half of our population doesn't want to be vaccinated. They simply don't trust our government and medical establishment. I remember when COVID vaccines were first developed our current Vice President said that she would never take it because they were developed under Trumps watch. Multiple left wing outlets repeated the same thing. Our so called medical experts seem to be advocating for constantly changing science from saying "no you don't need masks" to "you must wear masks" to "two masks are better than 1 mask".  We went from "14 days to flatten the curve" to lockdowns for almost a year.  Is it any wonder that people don't want to be vaccinated after all these lies?

[heron, ASN, RN]

1 hour ago, capitalsfan83 said:

I'm not at all surprised that half of our population doesn't want to be vaccinated. They simply don't trust our government and medical establishment. I remember when COVID vaccines were first developed our current Vice President said that she would never take it because they were developed under Trumps watch. Multiple left wing outlets repeated the same thing. Our so called medical experts seem to be advocating for constantly changing science from saying "no you don't need masks" to "you must wear masks" to "two masks are better than 1 mask".  We went from "14 days to flatten the curve" to lockdowns for almost a year.  Is it any wonder that people don't want to be vaccinated after all these lies?

You clearly don’t have a clue about how the scientific process works.

[stevena9]

5 minutes ago, heron said:

You clearly don’t have a clue about how the scientific process works.

Exactly how did the comment above “clearly” demonstrate how the poster does not have a “clue how the scientific process works?” Nothing was mentioned in regard to the scientific process. What was mentioned is the hesitancy to get the vaccine due to being misled by the government multiple times. Again, there was no reference to the scientific process. You folks who have bought in like to use superfluous terms and phrases that you regurgitate from the media and the government two mask your pseudo-intellectualism. You are not that smart and you are scared, and deep down you know that, but you are too cowardly to do anything about it.

[stevena9]

14 hours ago, toomuchbaloney said:

Covidiocy has all manner of people thinking that we can enjoy a fully open economy and educational system without achieving vaccine mediated herd immunity to this novel virus.  It's stunning really.  Listen to the White House press briefings and you will discover that those journalists apparently haven't realized that the level of disease spread is in control of all of that.  It's no wonder then, that they are almost completely unable to convey that fundamental message to the public...there will be no return to anything resembling pre-covid business or education until the pandemic is ended.  We are far from the end at this moment in time no matter how hopeful we were in the Spring.  Until the people living in denial, fear and fantasy vaccinate the country will suffer. 

Did you seriously, actually mention the White House press briefings? I tried to refrain from commenting on this ridiculous thread. But your comment is just so asinine. You present yourself online as being all knowing and an authority, yet you refer to those who are the very root of the problem of all this. This should be laughable, but it’s gotten way too serious to not be funny anymore. That being said, anybody who is willing to continue playing the game Simon Says with the government has the wool pulled over their eyes. What exactly will you “allow” them to talk you into doing next?