This is a firsthand view of a day in the life of a healthcare worker. A plea, a notice, a topic so common and often heard but goes unnoticed at times.
A shower starts the day, followed by a cup of coffee as one walks around gathering necessities for the 12-hour shift- badge, license, lunch, water container filled to the brim in the hopes to get hydrated this time around as yesterday, breaks were a luxury never given fully. The concept of so little time couldn't be any truer.
Walking into the lobby where soft music was playing through the built-in speakers, one could almost pretend that there was no pandemic going on. Everyone had masks, employees and guests were courteous and gentle in the delivery of news- good or bad. Nurses in blue, docs in white and techs in red or green, everyone had a different role, but had the same goal- safe delivery of care.
Running like a well-oiled machine yet with hearts worn on their sleeves- these are your health care workers. Others call them heroes but most of them would rather not be labeled as such. "Angels in disguise" they're called, but they won't have that either. These workers don't ask for much either- respect. Respect for what they do and how they deliver care is the most precious commodity a healthcare worker asks for and sometimes they don't even get it.
Although it may be true that healthcare and hospitals have been labeled a business venture, these healthcare workers cannot be replaced by robots. They are the critical clinical compassionate arm of the business- so precious and decreasing in number, sometimes unappreciated and maligned, yet so few. Some marvel at how multiple and seemingly tasks and requests, phone calls and orders come and go during the shift, yet somehow even when the unexpected happens, these professionals work and deliver care with precision and grace under pressure. The training shows, humane and human emotions at play, clinical judgments at one's fingertips, always. One wonders how they survive a shift, consider the fact that they have the same middle name: teamwork!
Hand-off report is given at bedside after each shift. One shift ends and the next begins. In less than 13 hours, the same cycle happens. Another day, another shift. Another chance to chase the dream so elusive, maybe tomorrow.
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