Before I was preparing for this blog, I chose the topic from contents of Terkel's working book which I wanted to write. I was curious about a life of practical nursing in America because it was part of my life.I had an experience in medical field in my country,Burma. After I read the "Practical Nurse, Old People's Home",I felt as same as Carmelita Lester. Also I heard about nursing home from my friend,who works at nursing home.In my country, the old people stay in the home until they die. Even they are old,they still get a respect and lead as a head of household.Family members follow their advice respectfully.Most old people in America stay and end in their old age alone at nursing home.In the interview,Carmelita Lester showed how's a relationship between her and an old lady whom she took care.They looked like family members and worried each other even after work. She feels sorry for everybody who cannot help themselves.Also she mentions that many of these patients,they need help, but they don't have enough help.Some patients cannot take care by themselves even for meal.All these people in nursing home are not helpless.But just the family get rid of them.Moreover, plenty of nurses don't care. If they get the money,forget it. Carmelita herself had an experience as a patient. She believes god. Got cures her illness.She really wants to help and enjoy her job. Sometime she was tired because of work overload.She cannot help everybody by herself alone. She devotes her life to patients.She doesn't expect a reward. All good and bad things exist in the world because of mind. People who offer sacred hospitality are rewarded in the same way.I am buddhist.In buddhism, if youhelp someone,god will give yourewards. The good things will come back to you.I believe in this concept and I help peoplealways when have a chance. Compassion is very important during caring patients.
How does emotional labor affect workers within the healthcare industry?
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Great reflections and a great research question. The question of what it takes to sustain people in the health care field - whether it's religious faith or something else, is very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, though, when you say that people 'die alone' in nursing homes - as your post points out, this is a place where health care workers do a lot of emotional labor. So, why do we think of this as 'alone' - because it's not family? Or maybe because people who do emotional labor are often invisible?
I think it depend of the side you are looking at the picture from.
ReplyDeleteFor the patient it does look like dying alone because no matter how good that nurse take care of him/she it's never going to be like having a family member next to them. In my religion, we pray for a dying person until the person is gone. Does a nurse do that for a patient ? I wonder.
From the nurse side it depend of many things that determine if emotion will get involved or not. How long you've being doing this job, what is your personal and emmotional background, and how long you've being taking care of that particular patient who's dying.
To me, every single person who's dying deserve some respect no matter what their religion is and what is their relation with whoever is taking care of them. That's just the only way I know to do it. A personal touch always goes beyond the medical caring !
As we've seen, a lot of health care workers do do a lot of emotional labor. So it's very possible that they are praying, or showing care in much the way a family member would. Do we see this as problematic because it's something someone is doing for money? But of course, this is the same as in families, where financial dependence is also caught up with money.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that emotional labor is inevitable and necessary in a lot of professions. Remember what the drop-out said in the audio we listened to of Terkel? Teachers have to care to be good. So does a nurse or therapist: you can't fake that as a stewardess might be able to. The question is does this kind of work take a toll, and what do these workers need to be able to do this caring?
I guess too many people are going into the medical field for financial reasons. They (maybe we, as I am part of them) have to understand that the feelings putted into it are what really makes the difference. My daughter had many surgeries so, I know what it means to have a carring nurse or Dr.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting question, miridi - but I wonder if, with some of the less than compassionate health care workers, it's less that they went into it for the wrong reasons and more a question of being burned out or noting having the time and emotional resources to devote to every patient?
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