Liberia: Nurses Abandoned Redemption Hospital

[Been there,done that]

Liberia: Nurses Abandoned Redemption Hospital

The Ebola Virus outbreak is terrifying, I realize Liberia is far from home for most of us, but it most certainly can be transmitted anywhere.

"The Redemption Hospital workers said their colleague died after apparently coming in contact with an Ebola suspect due to the lack of protective materials."

Easily transmitted with a 90 % death rate.

Protective gear or not, I could not provide care to Ebola victims.

How about you?

[messymissy]

No way would I care for any infectious patient without proper PPE!

Last statement in the original article posted by the OP. These nurses have no health insurance. That is really sad and very scary. Don't blame them for walking out.

MissyRN

[TheGooch]

Back in April there were some unsubstantiated reports of it spreading to Italy via African migrant workers. Later turned out to be not true but can you just imagine if it did happen..............................

It's only a matter of time though before it does spread out of Africa. Maybe not during this outbreak but a future one.

[smartnurse1982]

Self preservation is more important than any patient in the hospital

I am going to tell my job that when they want me to drive in 2 feet of snow and ice!

My heart,however,will not let me stay home and see others suffer.

Like my nursing hero Clara Maas.

Even if i just sat there and held hands.

i must have PPE though.

I most certainly do not mean to come across as snobby,so do not take it that way!

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

It's all easy to say what we think we would do in these situations.

Hopefully, it will always be conjecture.

A near fatal infectious pathogen is not quite on the par with a snow storm and ice.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

If the hospital provided the proper equipment and support and it was decimating the US then I would.

I am 51 and i do not have children so I be willing to help out.

However, if the hospitals did not provide state of the art equipment and resources than he!! NO!

[0.adamantite]

What is our responsibility as nurses? When becoming a part of this career, are we expected to take on these kinds of risks?

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

What is our responsibility as nurses? When becoming a part of this career, are we expected to take on these kinds of risks?

It is not my responsibility as a nurse to take unreasonable risks with my own health. It is not my responsibility as a nurse to spread a dangerous disease by practicing without proper protection. I am a professional, not a martyr.

[smartnurse1982]

What is our responsibility as nurses? When becoming a part of this career, are we expected to take on these kinds of risks?

I believe so,but i guess i might be in the minority.

I knew when i became a nurse back in 2004 that i might be exposed to disease,and it might be fatal.

Back then biological weapons of mass destruction was the main concern.

[0.adamantite]

I wasn't saying that I would be the first in line to volunteer to care for these patients. I was just wondering ethically / morally what our job is. I've been reading a book about the nurses who remained with patients during Hurricane Katrina. Surely these nurses endangered their health too, but what would the patients have done if the nurses had abandoned them?

I guess if there was a fire, our first priority is to protect our own safety. However I'm not sure how I would feel being the first one out of the burning building while patients were still inside.

This post brought up a lot of issues for me.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I suppose it's a question of where you feel your obligations lie personally, then translating those obligations to a professional level. Professionally, I do not feel even slightly obliged to care for patients under unsafe circumstances unless I'm willing to do so on a personal level. But a disease like Ebola without PPE? No, thanks.

And if I did make a decision to stay and care for a patient under those circumstances, I'd also have to make peace with myself to live in quarantine until I was cleared of the disease so as to ensure that the disease didn't spread because of me. You can't have it both ways, you know. Once you decide you're obligated, you must be obligated professionally, which means putting your personal desires (to go home, see your family, etc) aside until you can ensure that you can do so safely.

I cannot fault those nurses for leaving. They have families and friends and a community to protect as well, and the conditions the hospital put them in were unsafe and unfair. It's that kind of kindling that could spark an epidemic.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

I believe so,but i guess i might be in the minority.

I knew when i became a nurse back in 2004 that i might be exposed to disease,and it might be fatal.

Back then biological weapons of mass destruction was the main concern.

They still are a concern, trust me.

There's a difference between an accidental exposure and going into a room unprotected, knowing you're coming face to face with a contagious, deadly illness.

I believe when we become healthcare professionals, we must not only take into account the lives of the ill, but also the well-being of the healthy. If interacting with one ill patient would potentially endanger the herd due to lack of appropriate PPE, I would feel morally obligated to the rest of the population to limit my exposure, not only so that I can continue taking care of other patients, but so that I didn't spark an epidemic by spreading the disease.

It may seem harsh, but that's the reality of healthcare. Anyone who's ever worked in an emergency situation knows that you can't treat everyone, so you'd best spend your time and resources wisely--on those who have a chance at survival.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Nobody should be expected to care for patients in this type of situation without complete state of the art PPE and total support (staffing levels, helpers, etc) of their employer.

I do not blame those nurses without that for walking out one bit. It was the only choice.