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Nor is it a secret that a woman who works with patients with the most difficult conditions realizes that although the specialists who usually work in the resuscitation department are aware of the stress that awaits them and are prepared for it, today their doctors are concerned about their own health, both mental and physical.
Daily work in protective “spacesuits” that create a greenhouse effect, when you cannot sneeze or sneeze – Onė Bartkienė, anesthesia and intensive care nurse at the VUL Santara Clinics, explains in detail what a daily day is like in the intensive care and why doctors have to go through today.
Draw spells where you will work
The nurse says she usually comes to work at least half an hour before the shift.
“That is the different situation at work today, we have to hurry, because the preparation for work is a little different. First we have to count the team members, we look at how many patients we have, we always do it with fear, we see if someone he has fallen, has not entered into self-isolation or has not become ill. Normally, the number of team members does not make us happy, “said the doctor during a remote interview at the Santara clinics.
According to her, in the first Intensive Care and Resuscitation Unit there are a total of 4 posts, 2 of them with six beds, one post with 7 beds and 4 posts with 4 patients.
PHOTO GALLERY. VUL Santara Clinic
“We assign a certain number of employees to each position. Usually, to make sure no one suffers, we do it by lottery.
We continue to prepare – it took us about 10 minutes to get dressed, there is some congestion. And then a few minutes before 7, we entered the resuscitation department “dressed” in costumes, “said O. Bartkienė.
Work is complicated by being in “space suits”
Speaking of the so-called “cosmonaut clothes”, the nurse did not hide that working with them is especially difficult. You have to work at least 4 hours to dress like this.
“Of course, that time depends on the occupation, the number of patients, the procedures that are performed, we also take 5 hours. In recent days, there have been cases where the girls have left even after more than 5 hours.
This is how this everyday situation differs more from previous work. Yes, it was never easy, always a bit stressful, we always had extreme situations and working together required a lot of focus and a lot of knowledge. But now it is very complicated with those security measures, ”said O. Bartkienė.
I neither sigh nor drink
The nurse consoled that with the highest level of protection, every move becomes complicated.
“The suit creates a warming effect. We sweat, then cool down, the moisture accumulated under the suit does not disappear later. The underwear that we wear under the guards gets wet and not dry.
It is later, when the physical load is less, when you sit down to fill documents or strips of syringes, then we feel cold. This difference in temperature is also very exhausting, ”said the nurse.
He added that the workflow is especially complicated by respirators that are worn regularly, which you won’t take off if you want to drink or nose, sneeze or cough.
“It just came to our knowledge then. As you know, masks really tickle the nose, itch and we kiss. One can only imagine how we feel sore and unable to clear my nose,” O. Bartkienė said.
According to the doctor, in the past, such protections were far from being necessary: gloves were not used constantly, only during appropriate procedures, nor were other special protections used:
“What we used in the past and now is incomparable, that tool did not create a greenhouse effect and it did not have to be used all the time.”
Despair for lack of work
The doctor said that the number of procedures a patient needs depends a lot on the day, their condition and how many of those procedures are scheduled for that day. But the obvious problem right now is a lack of manpower.
“It just came to our notice then. Sometimes in the last few days we have heard that beds and equipment are being counted, but we are not talking about human resources. And it is very frustrating because we no longer have people. As far as I know, other resuscitations are facing this problem, even asking for help from student volunteers.This shows that the situation is really desperate.
Yes, we are very happy when the students come, but their skills cannot fully cover our work. But at least they can turn the patient over, hold his arm and talk, which is also very important. Next time, we won’t even have time to approach the patient and comfort him. After all, they are also conscious, they see the intubated patients nearby, they see how many procedures are performed on them. We try to protect them with screens, but they understand what is happening, ”commented O. Bartkienė behind the scenes.
“We don’t need medals and honor”
For the skeptics, supposedly doctors work very hard, but they have time for the interview, the doctor replied that when she came to do it during her day off:
“People say we groan. I do not know if the complaints of the medical staff are heard frequently, we could tell the facts as they are. If it is not easy, it is not easy. And we can’t say we had a lot of fun in those costumes.
We do not moan, we do not go, we do not choose, we do not ask anyone for mercy. We don’t need medals and honor, we only need two things: work and social responsibility ”.
Angry at virus skeptics
The doctor did not hide the fact that skeptics claim that the virus is not one of the most painful topics. According to her, it is really disappointing and very angry to spread such an opinion in society.
“The patients are there and the staff is working. They are often deluded people and this position of theirs is often due to ignorance, perhaps because they do not have certain facts or ignore them. The saddest thing is that people are guided by opinions, not by acts.
And when you try to introduce them, you hear claims that you can scare us so much. So this creates a closed circle. But the most disappointing thing is that the amount of our work and the immediate problem of working with these patients depends on their attitude and actions ”, lamented the doctor.
She told herself when asking several patients how they got infected or believed in the virus before.
“But when you shake hands, whether there are believers or not, it was the last time. I realized that my human emotions could break through and, as a professional, I can’t afford it, I have to care for all patients equally. “
The health of the doctors themselves is worrying
According to O. Bartkienė, emotions and tension are often caused by fatigue, too many patients, and inadequate staff.
“Sometimes it seems that we are on the verge of emotional or physical exhaustion. Of course, it depends a lot on the day, the position for which you work. But the emotions are not the best, the team is tired, sometimes angry. And we have to suppress it And that lack of emotion starts to do its thing again. I’m already realizing that we have started to be quieter, like having lunch together because we don’t want to express anger, complain. But what is extremely sad and very worrying is that not only emotions but also our physical health is deteriorating.
Working in our department has never been easy, it required a lot of physical preparation, good emotional condition, so our team is definitely not weak neither psychologically nor physically. However, now one or the other has various exacerbations of health disorders: migraine, fainting, heart rhythm disorders, high blood pressure. At the end of the day, it seems that we will still have to work a long time under these conditions ”, predicted the doctor.
He also saw sad predictions for the near future. According to her, knowing how Lithuanians know how to celebrate, they would not be the best.
“After the holidays of the big year, there are fears that even more patients will flow,” he added.
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