Santana, a nurse, transferred to a COVID-19 unit when the pandemic began — not by his choice. He did not feel he had the knowledge to do the job, and often found himself ruminating about whether a patient’s death had been his fault or if someone more experienced could have done something different.
Santana questioned why he’d been moved to the unit and if he had the knowledge to work there effectively. Every shift was stressful, yet he felt as if no one cared about him or his colleagues. No one acknowledged the team was short-staffed and working in challenging circumstances. They were often told to “Get on with the job.”
Healthcare providers worry so much about the health of their patients. A lack of institutional support to ensure good patient outcomes violates their value of care.
For Santana, this value is what brought him to nursing in the first place. When it broke — again, not by his choice — he experienced great moral pain.
Image generated by Midjourney.