Posted on 07/25/2009 9:33:24 AM PDT by lakeprincess
Skimpy supplies of flu vaccine and public panic are not the only concerns among officials charged with managing a potential pandemic. Some vital caregivers could be no-shows.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
And those included in that percentage that said they would be no shows should be kicked out of the profession, IMO. Risk at times is part of the job description of a care giver. What would we have done without medics on the battle field in the Civil War, in Vietnam, etc.
That’s OK, I plan to be a no show at the “pandemic” too.
DITTO!
ping
Do these people drive cars? Ride bicycles? Or live in a bubble?
“Suppose they gave a pandemic and nobody came”
The Y2K of diseases.
said they would be no shows should be kicked out of the profession, IMO. Risk at times is part of the job description of a care giver.
So just because they are in a health profession people are supposed to put strangers above themselves and their own families welfare/safety? If one of your own loved-ones is in health care, would you want them putting themselves or you at risk for strangers? Healthcare workers are human, after all, and in a time of crisis, survival instincts WILL take over. Plan for it right now. The veneer of civilization is very thin. I suggest you stop worrying about what other people will or won’t do and be ready to take of yourself and your own.
Then they are not really caregivers. On top of that, the H1N1 flu does not even make the top 10 of what worries me taking care of patients.
Since our children are not grown, my hubby (also a physician) and I have a pact - if there is a real pandemic or bioterror attack, the one of us that can do the most good will work, the other will stay home with the kids. But the one staying home will be for the kids sake, not because we are afraid to take care of patients. The Lord will take care of us....one way or the other!
“Medics on the battlefield” are usually military and signed up for the risk.
Risk IS NOT part of the job description of care givers - just read any hospital infection control manual.
The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps exists to provide care in the non-battlefiled medical crisis situation. The Surgeon General IS a General - a 3 button, no less - for a reason.
As a former disaster planner, I can assure you the biggest worry is who all will show up “after the disaster” - one need only look at Katrina for many lessons on this. And some that do show up may not be ones you want in the AO.
Peace, out.
I admire you and your husband, Mom MD. To abandon people who are counting on you or need you in an emergency is the height of selfishness ~ especially since you chose the profession. Anyone in the health care profession has to be aware of the dangers and accept them.
Take your condescending attitude elsewhere
What is condescending about pointing out reality- as backed up by the results of this survey? Yes, there will always be heroes that will come through, but the reality is that MOST people are not heroes and will put themselves and their families first, regardless of their profession.
Risk is and always has been part of the health care profession. When I was first training, there was this little thing called AIDS beginning to be recognized. At the time, we were still not sure of the causative agent or how it was spread. This was long before the time of universal precautions. And all the precautions in the world will not prevent transmmission of all disease at all times.
One learns quickly that if you loose sleep at night or can’t function in all circumstances secondary to the fear of contracting something or other, you do not belong in the health care profession. It is not for the faint of heart.
The "reality" of this survey simply highlights how selfish people are today, IMO. Don't look down on people who would do the right thing and stay and care for their patients! And I wouldn't consider myself a hero to be doing it. God is in control of my destiny, not some virus.
Risk IS NOT part of the job description of care givers"
Anyone who graduates from medical school "signs up for the risk". Anyone who works as a doctor for Doctors Without Borders "signs up for the risk". Anyone who works as an EMT "signs up for the risk". Anyone who takes a course to work as a CNA "signs up for the risk". Even the most basic medical training will clearly state what many of those risks will be.
Don’t look down on people who would do the right thing and stay and care for their patients!
First of all, where did you get that from any of my posts? Again, I am simply pointing out the reality of the situation and human nature. I would also point out that the percentage of people that even said they would stick it out is only a fraction of the results of the survey. People are going to answer the way they expect others- and themselves- to answer. It has little bearing on how they will REALLY react in a crisis situation. Stress and crisis has a funny effect on people to the point that I don’t think you can really predict how anyone will react. Those that say they will run might very well end up being the heroes and vice-versa. And there is no way that I believe that anyone (including you) would forgo taking care of their own child
or loved one to go to a shift at a hospital or other facility to take care of a patient instead. I’m talking about a true, life or death, pandemic/apocalypse type scenario. That is not condescending- I’m just accepting what I see as reality.
Having a HIV/AIDS pt walk in off the street to an ER is one thing.
Being surrounded by masses of infected people with no vaccine for yourself IMO is altogether different.
Would you go into a isolation room (or building) filled with folks know to have Ebola? Or some new 100% fatal contagion with unknown properties?
I know I wouldn't, I care for my family more. You of course, may choose to do differently. BTW, if the above example is seen by you as a challenge - then the PHSCC is something you might want to check out.
Again, after a disaster, the question is who will show for work. I'm glad your community can count on you to put mass disaster care ahead of your family or personal concerns - you are to be commended.
Whatever. You missed the point. When I was first practicing, AIDS was a 100% fatal contagious disease that we were not sure how it was transmitted.
If there is a true epidemic running through the community, I can catch it in the community, or I can catch it at work trying to do something about it. I prefer the latter. I
m sorry if that upsets your vision of how things are.
As I said, it’s in Gods hands. If I worry about what I am catching at work, I would never come to work. Then next Ebola could be brewing on one of our hospital wards every day, an they might not identify it until a few thousands have died. Not to mention I am likely colonized with MRSA and a few nastier things than that. You learn to live with the risk, or quit.
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