Mental Health Superheros

Who is taking care of the caretakers?

At the height COVID, Banksy the ever-elusive British artist donated a painting to an NHS hospital in Southampton. Eighteen months later, the portrayal is now a common theme - a superhero nurse.

A nod of gratitude to the multitudes of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who have for months on end given their everything. All to ensure we, the public, are cared for during some of the darkest days in recent history.

Burnout is real.

Physicians and nurses are leaving their respective professions in record numbers. They are exhausted -  and depleted. We believe they are superheroes. We believe they can overcome.

Why? Because we’ve seen it with our own eyes. Heaving ICUs, overflow tents and iPad goodbyes.

But do they want to be superheroes?

Doubtful. Those who choose healthcare do so because they care. Many don’t choose. It’s part of their human fabric to give unconditionally. But we’re at a crossroads.

We can choose to acknowledge, and address, the provider mental health crisis. Or we can pretend that our superheroes will damn their demons and singlehandedly slay the enemy. The latter would definitely be at our peril. If we choose to ignore what we know is happening in regard to mental health and provider well-being, then who will care for us when the next pandemic rears its ugly head?