Medical Workers' Front Line Trauma

Today the medical workers are the heroes, as they stand in the front line combating the crisis.

Medicine can come as a very stressful condition under normal circumstances, but the physical, psychological demand can especially be intense during times of now, when millions of people are being infected with the disease. There have been a recent surge of burnt out clinicians that have been quitting their jobs recently. In fact, many have been risking their own health by witnessing death, and experiencing the breakdowns of protocol and support.

Burned-out Clinicians

“Burnout is a chronic response to health care conditions. This is an unprecedented acute crisis.” -Colin West, Mayo Clinic Internist

As this pandemic is affecting many societies at large, the front line health care workers are facing a huge burden on having to face systematic lack of preparation. In the U.S, late government response, and hindered testing procedures have allowed the virus to spread very widely. Many hospitals that were running lean for years were left frustrated as they suddenly faced a surge and a leap in demand for more supplies and labor. ERs in hard hit areas have been struggling to keep up with a surge of new patients that ave been rapidly arriving. Nurses facilitate final phone calls between the critically ill and the ones that are barred from entry.

Health care workers having to see a tide of increasingly sick people have been affecting the mental well being of young workers. They have been leaning into the extremities of uncertainty, and keeping up with months of fights. They are also in highly exposed places of where the virus may exist profusely. As of April, the virus has been killing the health care workers rapidly, with more than 9000 workers just in the US, with 27 killed. Many clinicians have been speaking out about the resource shortages and have shared their experience with the world about how they have experienced being reprimanded by their organizations by their institutions.

Trauma has also been associated with overly violent events such as car accidents and shootings. However, there has been many traumatic occurrences for the medical front line workers, as they are confronted with death every day. Many feel agony over not being able to supply ventilators for the patients who are in need of them. One bioethicist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio explains, "We're trained to in treating one patient at a time, but in the worst of a pandemic, you have to think about the greatest good for the greatest number." As such, medical workers have been facing emotional tolls over COVID-19, very tricky to predict as well. Medical front line workers have been showing signs of PTSD, symptoms of depression, and anxiety as well. It is crucial for communities to really recognize their great sacrifice, and help them receive the attention and recognition they deserve.

Reference: Scientific American, June 2020: Frontline Trauma Medical Workers Are Society's New Heroes. What Happens When The Accute Crisis is Over?