A nurse did “how it started / how are you doing” and it’s a reminder of the toll of the pandemic for healthcare workers

The US Surgeon General attributes the new spike in COVID cases to “pandemic fatigue,” but that’s nothing compared to what frontline healthcare workers are going through. TIME recently reported that nurses suffer from burnout, but it often goes unnoticed. A nurse recently used a social media trend to draw attention to backstage fatigue.

An ICU nurse posted her own “how it started / how is it going” photo on Twitter, and in short, it’s not going very well. The front photo of Kathryn, an intensive care nurse in Nashville, was taken in mid-April just after graduating from nursing school. The photo after revealed how healthcare workers sweat and cry when treating people during the pandemic.

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Some people refuse to wear masks for even 10 minutes at the grocery store because it’s “uncomfortable,” but that’s nothing compared to the safety precautions Kathryn and other nurses take on a daily basis. Kathryn’s photo showed a sweaty face and marks on her face from her PPE. “I just mean the physical effects of wearing all that PPE (personal protective equipment) for so long,” she told CTVNews. “We’re dehydrated all the time because we sweat so much and because with the masks you can’t drink until you get off the floor or go to the break room to take your mask off and drink.

Kathryn posted the photo because she wanted to draw attention to what nurses deal with on a daily basis. “It’s exhausting,” Kathryn told CTVNews. “People don’t see it. They don’t see it. They don’t see what we see. They don’t see the reality of it every day.”

Ultimately, Katherine wants people to take the pandemic seriously. “There is still no definitive cure for this disease and therefore seeing my patients, these people that I treat, suffer so badly and then see other people act as if this is not happening, or as if they are not. couldn’t make that happen to someone else, it’s infuriating, ”she told CTVNews.

Katherine pointed out that the best way to ease the burden on tired nurses is to take care of yourself. “There is no cavalry coming to relieve us or take our place if we fall, and things will only get worse,” she told Scary Mommy. “We will do everything we can for as long as possible to help as many as possible, but the public must do their part to limit the spread of covid or the healthcare system and the people who work in the healthcare industry will collapse. under the weight of it. “

The nurse received a lot of positive support on Twitter.

Katherine also encouraged other nurses to share photos of their haggard appearance and mask marks. “Healthcare workers, drop the photos and stories of your covid unit in this thread. People need to see the reality of what this disease is doing and we may not be able to film inside hospitals, but we can show people what she did to us. They have to see, ” she tweeted.

Staying home, wearing a mask in public, and washing your hands frequently is a walk in the park compared to what nurses experience. And honestly, it’s the least you can do to support healthcare workers.