Nurses: "Professionals" or "Martyrs?"

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Seeing the damage done to the hospitals in Florida when Charley passed through made me wonder:

Would you report for work if your life was threatened by a similar emergency or disaster such as a hurricane?

Do you believe that as a professional, you're duty-bound to your patients, even if it costs you your life, as it did the firemen who raced to the World Trade Center?

Or do you believe that martyrdom profits no one, and your family---or your life--comes first?

Specializes in Med-Surg.
Sorry to be so ignorant, but what about pets? Hubby and I both work for the same hospital, but I'd hate to go in to work for 72 hours and leave our dog at home alone!

I know what you mean. I wasn't thinking and the day of work I scrambled around to find a sitter for the dog. Finally had to leave them with big bowls of food and water (which is what the vet would have done) and go to work with the neighbor checking in on them. But the next day I came home because the hurricane hadn't hit and found a sitter for them. It killed me to have to leave them with the chance of not being able to get them with someone. They probably would have been o.k. as I have a doggie door (and they never go our when it's dribbling so they certainly wouldn't go out in a bad hurricane), but I didn't want them to be alone, and I'll never do that again.

Now, I'm wiser days ahead of time I call my sitter and put them on notice. They live in a non-evacuation zone.

I might add by reporting to work I'm not risking my life. I'm as safe, if not safe in that building than I am sitting it out in my own home, or some shelter. I would arrive long before the hurricane. Now if I for some reason found myself at home during inclement weather (which would be hard to believe since we know days ahead of time when a hurricane is coming) then of course, no I wouldn't risk my life. I'd wait for the weather to pass.

Seeing the damage done to the hospitals in Florida when Charley passed through made me wonder:

Would you report for work if your life was threatened by a similar emergency or disaster such as a hurricane?

Do you believe that as a professional, you're duty-bound to your patients, even if it costs you your life, as it did the firemen who raced to the World Trade Center?

Or do you believe that martyrdom profits no one, and your family---or your life--comes first?

I think I would,as long as my family was ok,I was at work when 7 tornados hit our small town,and we needed help badly,with the incoming and the pt's on the floors we had our hands full....alot of nurses and doctors came in when they could.

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