Im not a bad doctor, but if I have a choice... I recently read a comment on one of my friends FB post that made me feel rather angry. She posted a question to her fellow healthcare workers that if we have a choice, would we volunteer to treat Ebola patients. And someone replied that it is our duty and not treating the patient would be shirking our duties. By now, I think we all know that Ebola is very close to home. The health ministry have been preparing for it and some hospitals have been selected to treat such patients. When I found out that my hospital is not one of the selected centres, I was very relieved. Being a healthcare worker, we are always at risk of being exposed to infectious diseases, and indirectly putting our family at risk as well. But theres a job to be done, and we try to protect ourselves as much as possible by using personal protective equipments when dealing with such cases. Some healthcare workers are more exposed to such risks compared to others depending on where we are stationed. Those at the emergency department, medical wards and intensive care units are obviously at higher risk. So if I have a choice, I would not volunteer to treat Ebola cases. Because I dont want to put myself and my unborn child at risk. I dont want to put my young toddler son and niece and every other family members at risk of such a deadly disease. But I dont have a choice. Just like when theres a TB patient who needs intubation. Or a HIV positive patient who needs an IV line. We wear our N95 masks and gloves and other protective gear and do whats needed to minimize exposure risk. At the end of the day we take a good bath before we hug our loved ones. And we are able to sleep at night because we know that we have done all that we could to help the sick. Having seen so many patients die just makes me cherish life more. So Im not a bad doctor, but if I have a choice...
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 09:34:45 +0000
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