You don’t think science and evidence? Just take a look at our faces.

In the USA, over 11.2 million people have been infected with the Covid-19 virus and 248,000 have died (Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, 2020). We are usually not alone; worldwide, 55.3 million have been infected and over 1.3 million have died (Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, 2020). Healthcare staff face a battle against an invisible enemy that comes day after day. We haven’t any cure, we have now several treatments to alleviate the symptoms and we’re waiting for a vaccine. We are entering peak flu season and plenty of individuals who have deferred care as a result of the pandemic now find themselves at our door with greater disease severity and more complications. So not only are we caring for complex patients with Covid-19, we’re also caring for complex patients with other conditions. We are exhausted, morally wounded and feel burnt out because patients keep coming! Worse still, we hear from those that COVID-19 doesn’t exist; it is a scam. How can people ignore science and evidence?

This week, I listened to nurses and doctors from across the country who talked about patients who had been diagnosed with Covid-19, but they didn’t consider it. Even after they were placed on oxygen therapy and intubated, they still claimed it was a hoax or that that they had “the flu, pneumonia, or cancer.” How can people ignore evidence of refrigerated trucks looking for bodies? ? Can’t everyone see that our faces are covered with marks from wearing masks for hours? Do people see how drained we’re as we go forwards and backwards to the hospital or our offices? Can people see the tears in our eyes as one other patient dies from this infection? Do people see the devastation within the eyes of a loved one who has lost family and friends to Covid?

How can we proceed to offer care for many who proceed to not wear a mask, claim COVID-19 is a hoax, and everyone seems to be overreacting? First, we must do not forget that we have now among the best medical and nursing minds on this country. While some have been silenced and even lost their jobs because they spoke the reality, these are the people we must proceed to support. We must support medical and nursing societies, publications and mainstream media that tell the reality and present the evidence. We have to base our discussions on science and make examples of virus transmission comprehensible to everyone.

We understand that individuals have the appropriate to consider what they select; but when these laws infringe on our freedoms, we must speak out. But let’s be clear: the guts of who we’re as nurses and what we do is caring. We will proceed to look after people, no matter their belief that Covid is a hoax. We are used to caring for people in difficult times; think concerning the patients you look after who’re indignant, acting aggressively, or being aggressive. Without a doubt, caring for these patients is one of the crucial difficult things we do. As healthcare professionals, we offer care without judgment. Our institutions and our colleagues have to support us as we look after these patients and recognize that healthcare staff may have respite from caring for these patients.

Health systems must realize that immunity is and shall be an excellent greater problem than we anticipated as Covid-19 cases surge. We shall be experiencing a roller coaster with Covid-19 for a while. All healthcare staff have to feel valued and supported not only now, but additionally in the long run. AND

Reference:
Johns Hopkins University and Medicine. (2020, November 17). Coronavirus Resource Center. Source: Johns Hopkins University & Medicine: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/