When the coronavirus pandemic hit the world, among the recommendations provided by WHO was for people to avoid human contact in a bid to slow the spread of the disease. Governments all over the world were quick to send their people home and put in place curfews and movement restrictions. However, as more than half of the worlds population retreated to their homes, medical workers had to remain on their feet, taking care of the people who contracted the virus.
This group of individuals has been the real heroes of the pandemic working long hours while risking their lives to save others. They had to rethink their living conditions, enduring months away from their loved ones for the fear of infecting them. This article recognizes four groups of medical workers who have been selfless in the fight against the pandemic.
1. Nurses
Nurses have a number of skills that have come out strong to portray them as heroes in the pandemic age. For starters, they have a primary duty to care for their patients. They are utilizing their skills to ensure that every patient receives quality healthcare while recuperating from the disease. Additionally, they have gone over and beyond that primary duty to do more for their patients. Besides caring for the surging number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals, they have had to become friends and family to patients isolated in health facilities. This has gone a long way in helping the patients deal with the virus as well as keep their mental health in check. Nurses have also been in the frontline sensitizing communities on the best measures to keep the virus at bay.
One would credit the heroic skills to thorough training in nursing schools and the strict licensure exams such as the NCLEX examination that nurses have to pass before being allowed to practice. The rigorous exam preparations which include going through the NCLEX test plan prepares them for the muchneeded endurance in their career.
2. Clinical psychologists
The pandemic has posed a real test to mental health for many people. Most people had to deal with the fear of contracting the disease as well as anxiety about when this whole ordeal will be over. The need for social distance has also not been easy, as people had to fight loneliness. In addition, many people lost their jobs due to the pandemic, leading to financial constraints and difficulties.
Clinical psychologists have been heroic in providing psychological support to patients and their families. They have been resourceful in advising the world on the best ways to cope with the negative emotions that have come with the pandemic. Additionally, they have supported fellow medical workers who are caring for COVID-19 patients to deal with intense emotions that come with their line of work.
3. Health care support workers
We can agree that doctors and nurses are doing exemplary work in the fight against the pandemic. However, they wouldnt be able to do much without the help of healthcare support workers such as medical assistants, pharmacy aides, and phlebotomists among others. They may not be the first people to be praised, but they have put their lives at risk to ensure that nurses and doctors do their work without hitches by making sure that they have all the resources that they need.
Phlebotomists and lab technicians have in particular been resourceful in testing people for the virus. Medical assistants have also been at the frontline helping with administrative and other clinical tasks in hospitals and doctors offices. Pharmacy aides have also endured long hours dispensing medicines that patients need for recovery.
4. Health care service workers
Health care service providers such as janitors, housekeepers, and food preparation aids are perhaps the lowest paid medical workers, but they have been heroic in the fight against the pandemic in their own way.
The fight against COVID-19 calls for total cleanliness and sanitation in order to keep the virus away. For instance, janitors and housekeepers have been risking their lives keeping hospitals and especially isolation wards clean and sanitized. Dietary aides have been resourceful in keeping patients fed with the right nutrition while recuperating. Without such services, the hospitals wouldnt be ideal places to hold patients.
Conclusion
We have known health workers to go out of their ways to save lives. However, the pandemic has forced them to step up and do more in these unprecedented times. We are witnessing heroic acts from individuals who besides taking care of patients have had to deal with their personal lives as well. Those in the frontline and those working behind the scenes have teamed together to sacrifice for their communities.
