Trying to cope being a healthcare worker, full-time student, husband and father

File picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)

File picture: Itumeleng English/African News Agency (ANA)

Published May 29, 2020

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Cape Town – As a health-care worker, full-time student, husband and father, it has been and still is a stressful time during this pandemic. What was previously normal, is no longer normal. 

It is an unknown time that all of us as a country, province, communities and families have entered into. Because of the uncertainty, fear and change in our daily activities, these times are even more unbearable.

As a full-time student, my normal routine before the pandemic was that my daily activities would start by waking up at 5am and then travelling to Bellville to attend class from 9am until 4pm. 

I would then arrive at home every day at around 6pm and start preparing to perform my religious duties until 9pm. Now all crèches, schools and universities are closed.

I now have to report as a full-time health-care worker, and this means dealing with the pandemic itself.

The pandemic alone is not as stressful as the baggage it brings with it. What was seen as normal, is no longer. A day is now from 7am until 7pm. Whereas I normally arrived at home at 6pm, I now arrive at 8.30pm, and this only occurs on a day where I don’t receive a late call.

When arriving at home during “normal times”, I would first greet my family and sit down and tell them how my day was and spend some time with my child. Now, I will go straight to shower before I even say hello to my family. 

It is so difficult to explain to a one-year-and-11-month-old baby that whatever was normal before, is no longer normal. Like going to the park, taking her to ride on her tricycle or just going for ice cream is no longer normal.

Then there is the fact that I feel that there is no guarantee that I won’t get the virus. The worst thing that can happen is getting the virus and coming home not knowing that I have contracted the virus, although I have tried to be safe on duty and off duty. The fact that I am dealing

with these cases will make me

believe that I have brought the virus

home. 

This idea alone is eating me up

inside because there is an innocent

family at home waiting for a father

and husband to come home. These

things psychologically drain you. 

When working with patients

that are confirmed positive, you as

a practitioner can feel, at times, that

whatever you are doing is not right.

When contacting the patient, where

you used to perform assessments,

now suddenly you have to have

minimal contact with patients that

are confirmed or under investigation. 

This is totally opposite to what

was taught over the years, where we

are clinically driven. Where there

is even an instance where a patient

will be screened as a possible case,

we must leave the scene to fetch

an ambulance that is designated

for possible and confirmed cases.

Normally, this would constitute

patient abandonment. At times,

you as a practitioner feel inhumane

because of policies and protocols

that need to be followed. 

Although service delivery is very

important, working and studying

full-time is affecting me as a student,

husband, and father due to outcomes

that I don’t meet or while I do meet

these outcomes, it is not up to an

acceptable standard. 

This is mainly

due to limited time that is available

and trying to play it safe in the sense

of not allowing this whole situation

to lead to burnout.

Cape Times

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