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I posted over the weekend that I& #39;m heading to NYC to work in an ED during this pandemic. I had a lot of responses from people calling me a hero.
I appreciate the sentiment, but it makes me kind of uncomfortable (and not because I& #39;m a humble person)
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I appreciate the sentiment, but it makes me kind of uncomfortable (and not because I& #39;m a humble person)
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I got similar accolades after spending a few weeks in Monrovia, Liberia at the beginning of the Ebola epidemic. I was able to fly back to the US while two of my Liberian colleagues that I worked closely with continued in their hospital and eventually died
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Part of the reason that it& #39;s uncomfortable getting accolades for volunteering is that I& #39;m doing so little while the nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers in NY have been doing the heavy lifting. I simply hope I can provide a little relief, give a little assistance
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I also feel uncomfortable calling doctors and nurses heroes during these remarkable times because we didn& #39;t have to be in this position. We wouldn& #39;t have had to make such extraordinary sacrifices if we& #39;d been better prepared for the pandemic
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Don& #39;t get me wrong -- healthcare workers are heroes every day -- for facing the pain and suffering, for sacrificing their own mental wellness, their family lives, and much more. For working with victims of gun violence, poverty, chronic illness, mental health...
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But the reason they& #39;re risking their lives for their patients today in such alarming numbers is a remarkable failure of our system to plan for this pandemic. It& #39;s a failure of our leaders to plan and listen to experts and to respond in a decisive and timely manner
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It& #39;s a failure of our healthcare systems to be adequately prepared, to take care of our most vulnerable.
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