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Discussion

Most nurses not heros

I was talking to a firefighter friend of mine. He is retired from the local fire station. Out west we get forest fires in the Summer, and he recalled how the public hailed him as a hero when he was working on a local fire. To him, he said, he was just getting lots of overtime.

When I was doing my covid-19 crisis job, I was getting accolades. Honestly, I was really doing it for the excellent money. The job was really a similar workload to any nursing job, with the added hassle of putting on lots of PPE.

Of course, there are few locations where people are very hard hit, working their regular job for a regular amount of money, under difficult circumstances. I think those are a small minority, but nurses are getting treated like royalty sometimes.

It's the same with other so-called essential workers. They get praised in the media. But, when you think of it, they're a segment of the population that is still working, probably getting overtime, while other people languish at home, worried about if they'll be able to pay their bills.

The people I really feel for are the ones who are going to end up in the poorhouse because their businesses can't survive this government shutdown. Why don't I see any praises for them on TV? A lot of businesses will never reopen.

I haven't heard a lot of sympathy from the governor of our state for what people are going through. Instead, there are threats of fines and other measures to punish lockdown violators. I don't hear praises from the media for the sacrifices people are being forced to make.

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    If we really were heroes, I think Krispy Kremes should still be giving us free dozens of donuts every Monday.

    (*hint hint* if you work at Krispy Kremes)

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    Definition of hero (from Websters):

    (Entry 1 of 3)

    1a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

    b : an illustrious warrior

    c : a person admired for achievements and noble qualities

    d : one who shows great courage

    2a : the principal character in a literary or dramatic work —used specifically of a principal male character especially when contrasted with heroineA special feature was the cliff-hanger ending when hero, heroine, or both found themselves confronting a violent demise …— Ira Konigsberg —now also used of a principal character who is female… action movies with female heroes are emerging more frequently, and with increasing quality.— William Bibbiani

    b : the central figure in an event, period, or movement

    3 plural usually heros : submarine sense 2

    4 : an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol

    If you look at the definition of a hero then there are many people/professons/jobs etc that would be considered hero's.

    While I agree that the front line nursing/staff have worked harder than normal and deserve credit for that there are also many others who have worked harder than usual at an increased risk to health etc. also.

    And, personally I have worked many jobs where there was the constant donning/doffing of PPE for reasons to protect the pt as well as reasons to protect the nurse (from communicable dx) while getting no extra time from admin for the large amount of time required for this including the multiple trips in/out of the room for "customer service" reasons.

    So, IMO many people who work should be considered heros for their everyday jobs as well as those who go above and beyond the call of duty.

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    There is a growing view with my colleagues in the UK that the "hero" worship is a convenience for our government

    Calling us heros, referring to our clinical areas as the "front line" is deflecting and distracting the general public from our increasing death rate (2nd only to USA ) poor reporting of community deaths, so the reality is the death rate is higher is hidden and not challenged.

    The downgrading of the virus classification from a disease of high consequence which opened the door to reduced levels of PPE.

    Using terminology usually attributed to war means when a "soilder" is injured or dies there is an acceptance this is likely to be an acceptable loss without the scrutiny of the equipment we are sent into battle with

    I am seeing frustrated, angry colleagues (and myself included) declaring this is not a war, we are not fighting on the front line and deaths and injury because of poor decision making is not and should not be accepted

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    I hear a lot of stuff in the media talking about the suffering of businesses and lost jobs. Maybe they aren't praising them for their sacrifices because they didn't make a choice - this misfortune happened to them. Those of us who are working are making a choice to do it, even if it's a "go to work or starve" choice. Don't get me wrong, all this hero-worship of nursing makes me uncomfortable, but I can't see getting worked up over other people not receiving over-the-top praise.

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    I was just doing my job.

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