COVID-19 Takes a Heavy Toll on Medical Professionals
As hospital beds fill with COVID-19 patients the impact on doctors and nurses increase
Photo by Randy Calado
(Left to Right) Rhoel, Jeena, and Noel dressed and ready to work at the hospital.
October 7, 2021
After 2020, many people’s lives came to a standstill all over the world, and now everyone is getting back to normal. There has been progress in getting out of quarantine, with more people vaccinated, and more kids going back to school in person. However, COVID-19 still affects many people to this day.
Some of the most affected were those working in the medical field. Hospital workers everywhere are still heavily strained by the COVID-19 pandemic and have had to adapt to the changes that the new virus brought upon them.
“It started as a slow buildup, but over time the increase of patients affected us heavily,” said Noel Guillergan, a Scripps Encinitas nurse.
Guillergan works in the emergency department and was working when the COVID-19 pandemic first struck. Over the course of last year, COVID-19 struck hospitals hard. Beds and ventilators started to run low and nurses started to put up tents outside to hold more patients.
“The volume of patients is still high, but there are fewer Covid patients than before. However, they are even sicker than before,” said Jeena Calado, another Scripps Encinitas nurse.
COVID-19 is still common in hospitals these days. Thankfully, the numbers have gone down compared to its peak last year.
It started as a slow buildup, but over time the increase of patients affected us heavily, — Noel Guillergan
“The amount of ventilators and beds have gotten better these days, we currently have a sufficient amount. But occasionally we have spikes of COVID-19 patients and they usually get first priority to our beds compared to non COVID-19 patients. Unless that patient is in a worse state than the one with the virus,” Calado said.
Nurses seem to have a sufficient supply of ventilators, masks, and beds for now since the numbers have slightly gone down.
“Caring for this type of disease is more physically and mentally exhausting as the disease evolves and makes people sicker than before,” Calado said.
Viruses mutate overtime and this pandemic displayed an example of this. The new Delta variant poses more threats in hospitals due to its veracity.
“This new Delta variant is stronger than the first one, and people are sicker than before. The death rate is higher with this variant and it’s still a big problem today,” Jeena Calado said.
COVID-19 still has a big effect on the medical field. However, thanks to research, there are ways to prevent contracting COVID-19.
To learn more about COVID-19 and how to protect against the virus, visit this page by the Center for Disease Control
