Health Care Workers Were Already Feeling Burnout. Vaccine Deniers Made It Worse.
HuffPost
COVID-19 isn't the only issue we're fighting. Exhaustion among medical professionals is more severe than ever.
Susan Smith, a pediatric ER physician in the Midwest who’s been in the medical field for 30 years, wasn’t expecting to retire any time soon. But then COVID-19 hit. Smith has dealt with the long shifts, the increasing influx of children sick with the coronavirus, and the usual emergency room traffic just fine. Dealing with her young patients’ vaccine-skeptic parents is another story. Her experiences with the adults have left her shocked, disheartened and ready to leave a job she once loved.
“Even though this will hurt me financially, I’m done,” Smith, 60, told HuffPost recently. “I had hoped to do five or possibly 10 more years, but the anti-vaxxers, Trumpers and conspiracy theorists have just worn me down.”