I really need us all to take out time to read this article on depression and mental health issues amongst Physicians leading to Homicide and Suicide.
We have continuously advocated for the health and safety of the healthcare workers who in recent times have had to deal with chronic psychosocial hazards which have characterized their professions. Healthcare workers are emotionally overdrawn, the tasks are increasing, expectations are getting higher, diseases and infections trends are constantly mutating yet there is existing global shortage in supply of healthcare professionals, so we overuse the ones that we have available. Most of them have given all that they have, there is nothing left but demands are still being made on them. We must first understand that you were already a human being before you became a Physician, a dutiful Nurse and what have you in the healthcare sector. So we must admit to our fallible state and understand we are also ordinary human beings.
No one looks towards the mood change of a healthcare worker, no one knows if a healthcare worker is sick or not, even healthcare leaderships have not even helped this trend. Everyone is constantly being overworked and overused, nurses are becoming victims of road crashes on their way home after long hours of horrible night shifts, Doctors are being subject to Physical abuse and violation by patients and patients family, where does this lead us?
We need to first humanise medical training, residency is brutal with chronic sleep deprivation and human right violations. These toughness and stiffness do not make a good Doctors but we create a psycho out of them before they even leave medical schools. Studies have said 75% of Medical Students are on Psychiatric drugs to scale through medical schools. The need for us to start speaking out is sacrosanct, our collective silence nearly guarantees our suffering will continue.
A number of healthcare workers mostly Physicians nearly have time to spend with their families, they are working 100+ hours weekly hence the rate of failed marriages amongst Physicians in the United States has become critically disturbing.
Very recently on 29th December 2017 a 43 old Doctor named Zhao Bianxiang, a respiratory illness specialist in China collapsed and died in front of her patient after working 18 hours straight shift.
I really think we all need to do something about this, the work schedule of healthcare workers have changed drastically for the past two decades leading to overwork, overload and overdraw resulting in medical errors, cheap mistakes and preventable patients harm and even death. We must remember, healthcare facilities were already workplaces before they became centres where patient seek treatment.
We can not stop these all in one day, when start off the dialogue, it will point at policy review which I am sure will save our people (patients and care givers).
Our continued silence has been perceived as approval, let's SPEAKOUT.
Vein Treatment Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info.
ReplyDelete