Aimee: Registered Respiratory Therapist, Las Vegas, NV
POPSUGAR: Can you describe your prepandemic work life and how it changed during the pandemic?
Aimee C: Prepandemic work life was busy, but nothing like when COVID-19 hit. Respiratory therapists (RTs) are often stretched thin because people within our own hospital don't always understand our role and skills, but we are trained to do so much more than many realise. On a regular basis, RTs intubate (or assist), breathe for patients who cannot do it themselves, ECMO [Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation], titrate pulmonary vasodilators, manage invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilators better than anyone else, and work with every age group — from neonatal, to geriatric, to trauma patients — sometimes all in the same shift.
When the pandemic started, things became more hectic and we were stretched even thinner. I was placed in the COVID intensive care unit (ICU) at the beginning of the pandemic and spent over three months assigned only to this unit, throughout the peak in my city. Everyone wanted RT, and many of the physicians sought us out to listen to what we had to say, because we were all still trying to understand this new illness and how to treat it. Procedures we used to perform every few months were now daily occurrences — or multiple times a day, in emergent and fragile situations.
PS: Are you familiar with the concept of vicarious trauma as a health worker? And if so, do you believe vicarious trauma or PTSD is a common experience among health works?
AC: I have heard of this before but am more familiar with the term PTSD. I feel it is quite common among healthcare workers due to the nature of what we see and do on a regular basis. Regardless of whether people in healthcare admit it or not, many of us have various coping mechanisms and self-care routines that we use to process the things we see and do at work. Even when practicing proper self-care, some days can be extremely physically and mentally exhausting. I can definitely feel it in my mood in the few days after an especially hard week.
PS: In my experience, a lot of health workers don't believe they require (or perhaps, deserve) psychological support or assistance for "simply doing their jobs." What is your experience with this, and has your perspective changed since the pandemic began?
AC: I have heard many healthcare professionals share similar sentiments, but I am not one of them. Coming from a family with a healthcare background, I went into this profession knowing it would be extremely stressful, and that it's important to take care of yourself and ask for help when you need it. I truly wish this topic was not so taboo within healthcare still. Any of us would recommend help to one of our patients, but also look down on other healthcare professionals (or themselves) if they voice the need for mental health support. Some even fear repercussions from management, which is truly a shame and only leads to more psychological damage.
PS: Were you offered psychological support, and is there any service you wish you had been offered to cope better during the pandemic?
AC: My employer has offered mental health support throughout the pandemic, and has a general mental health support service. More security and better preparation for a pandemic would have saved many healthcare professionals from some of these stresses.
PS: Throughout the pandemic, health workers have been hailed as heroes and were compared to soldiers going to the frontline of a war. How did this make you feel?
AC: As an RT, my profession has always been in the shadow of nurses and doctors, but because this pandemic was caused by a virus that attacks the respiratory system, RTs started to get a small amount of recognition. It saddened me that it took a pandemic for people to start mentioning RTs.
"We did not sign up to potentially infect our loved ones with an unknown disease because of mass shortages of protective equipment."
I have always been proud of my profession, but I didn't feel like a hero. In fact, there were many times in the beginning of the pandemic I was left in rooms alone, because many of the things RTs do directly expose anyone in the room to the virus. So we would be left alone to cover ourselves in viral particles while everyone else watched from the other side of the glass — so it was a strange feeling to have RTs barely being recognised for the work we do, while other professions were praised and awarded. Every profession plays an integral role in the process but we were often left out when it came time for recognition.
One day in particular after a long week, my husband told me "Go save some lives!" trying to be sweet and cheer me on as I was leaving for work, and I cried. I didn't feel like a hero. I didn't feel like I was saving anyone, I was tired, frustrated, and emotionally exhausted. We did not sign up to potentially infect our loved ones with an unknown disease because of mass shortages of protective equipment. So the idea of "soldiers going to war" or being used as a martyr never sat well with me. Soldiers are not sent to war without weapons or armour, but that is exactly what it felt like many of us were doing.