[Economic ramifications on hospital staff - a thread]
I dont see a lot of people talking about how healthcare staff have been impacted economically by this crisis... (1/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

I am one of the lucky(?) ones who wasnt redeployed. But over half of our hospital shut down and the company was losing between 2 and 4 million dollars daily. Many hospital staff were dumped into uncertainty..(2/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

So while working staff are facing stressors like limited PPE and exposure, the ones at home are facing stressors like possible unemployment and financial problems.. (3/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

For example, my coworkers who were redeployed are now being told that they must reapply for positions. Some are being offered different positions at a PAY CUT. Because the company is trying to recoup losses (4/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

When the news reached us (via email), one of my coworkers stated, "This is why I dont break my back for this hospital. They dont give a shit about us. I just come to work to do my job and nothing else." (5/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

I dont blame or judge her for feeling this way. I also feel conflicted over what the hospital is doing, because I know a business needs money to survive, but I think it could've been handled in a way that didnt fuck the workers. (5/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NurseTwitter

Anyways, the reason I'm bringing this up is because I dont see it being talked about. But I'm sure my hospital isn't the only one doing dirty things to its staff to try to recover from losses from COVID. Also... (6/n) #COVID__19 #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

I'd like to challenge this idea of "just show up, do your job, and dont care about anything else because they dont care about you" mentality. Yeah, sure, we are just a number to them. But this isn't about them. (7/n) #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

This is about our patients. I dont break my back for my company, my hospital. At the end of the day I am sore and tired, but it's not because I want to help the fat cats upstairs make a buck. It's because... (8/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

It's because people NEED us. And I know many healthcare workers feel the same way. It reminds me of a time when I found a stray kitten many years ago that was very sick, so I brought it to the vet... (9/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #Veterinarian

The vet was giving me all these instructions on how to care for it, but I was scared of doing something wrong so I asked if they could keep it temporarily to help it past this critical point. They obliged to do this at a VERY low cost... (10/n)

Did they do it for money? Of course not. Customer service? Unlikely. They did it because they saw the fear in my eyes and they knew that little life needed them. Similarly, I love my job and I do it because my patients need me.. (11/n) #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

And I know I'm not alone in this. Many of my coworkers feel and act the same way. But this is exactly what the companies are, and have been, taking advantage of.. (12/n) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter

I dont know business, of course. I dont know what it's like on the other side of this perspective. But there has to be a better way to treat staff and still keep the company afloat. End of thread. (13/13) #COVID__19 #coronavirus #NursesWeek2020 #NurseTwitter #MedTwitter