But what about our healthcare heroes?
By: Ava Wilson
It is well known that the Covid-19 pandemic has had long lasting effects on the mental state of our world. We talk about the class of 2020 graduates who never walked across the stage, or the businesses who did not survive lockdown. But what about the healthcare heroes who worked the frontline? They just bounced back, right? Unfortunately, no. Those who didn’t retire early still show up to work and do their jobs. Except its different now.
I spoke with someone who not only worked the frontline of the pandemic but is also my mom. Cher Wilson is a laboratory manager of microbiology, immunology and transplant services laboratories at UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC. She had to manage the clinical laboratory that implemented and performed all of the novel covid testing and subsequent respiratory testing. She needed to become familiar with supply chain, procuring PPE, collection devices, and reagents. That’s just her job title and description. There have been long-lasting effects that she has experienced almost four years later. All of which she did while being treated for breast cancer.
Stress levels have increased three times as much ever since the start in 2020. In fact, she said “it’s what has happened since the pandemic that affects me the most.” Mental health aspects have permanently changed in her life as well as her coworkers. Family life is much different. Some problems that were either minuscule or more easily manageable are now more frightening. For example, if their child is struggling in school or their social life it is much harder to navigate due to the fear of going back into that isolating mental state from lockdown. She describes it as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). “It feels like a trigger” she states.
For healthcare workers there was no lockdown or “time off”. They continued to show up to work and in fact, at times it felt like they never got to go home. Their work still lives on, so although restaurants are open, schools are operating, social gatherings are commencing, our hospitals are still treating and fighting this infectious disease. This leads into the constant stressor of a never-ending feeling. As a result of this feeling, people retired early or became burnt out. This added other stressors such as employment. “There aren’t many, if any, new graduates entering the field because of this and the postponement of school over the past few years” Wilson states. People didn’t go to the doctor for two years so things such as mammograms and colonoscopies are piling up, making the workload seem and feel overloading. It is all a domino effect.
I asked my mom, what keeps her going? What makes all of this worth it? She responded with “the feeling and sense of providing a vital piece to fighting this pandemic, making the extra hours and workload manageable.” Although the pandemic has forever changed the dynamic in hospitals, there are things we can take away from it. Be kind to yourself. Giving yourself grace outside of work and in your home life. Prioritize your mental health, it’s just as important as your physical health.
