Caring Support is an innovative job-matching platform for healthcare workersLinks to an external site. in Canada. It is our goal to match qualified healthcare workers with amazing employers. It’s not an easy task, especially amidst what some are calling ‘The Great Resignation’. Beyond the burnout, healthcare workers in Canada are now facing the pressing issue concerning whether vaccinations should be mandatory for them to continue working in the healthcare sector. The question posed in the title of this article is one that comes with extremely heavy baggage. It’s an uncomfortable topic, to say the least, and yet here we are.
We have been inundated with so much information that sometimes it can feel like there’s just too much to consider. It’s almost easier to pull a toddler move and to cover your ears and close your eyes and just hope that when you open your eyes again that it’s all gone away. We need to face the truth: this isn’t going away.
How Far Has Medical Research and Development Come?
We are all aware of the importance of ‘herd immunity, but let’s go back to a time when scientists and doctors did not have the advancements in research and technology that we have today. Smallpox used to be common and extremely deadly. An estimated 300 million people died of the disease before it was eradicated in 1977, and you really don’t want to go down the rabbit hole that I just did look for a picture of a pathology lab from the 1700s. Let’s just say we have come a long way… and we have science to thank for that.
An important thing to note here is that if doctors and scientists from the 1700s can come up with a vaccine in a lab that looked like the one pictured above and that vaccine had a 95% efficacy rate back then with only 14-52 people out of every 1 million experiencing non-life-threatening side effects, then there is merit to be considered when our present-day laboratories have top of the line equipment, thorough and enforced cleanliness and ethical standards, and scientists that have degrees for every letter of the alphabet.
Oh, and did you know that back in the 1700’s, Edward Jenner, the doctor that invented the smallpox vaccine, tested his vaccine on a child before giving it to adults. Nowadays, there is a defined process for testing vaccines. Before even getting to the human trials, let alone trials that involve children, an incredible amount of testing is done in a lab to ensure that the vaccine is safe and effective.
What About Your Freedom of Choice?
Now that you have considered the medical advancements since the 1700’s, then it comes back to the other side of the argument. The ‘my body, my rules’ side. An extremely valid argument when it comes to our freedom of choice.
Freedom of choice is defined as: “an individual's opportunity and autonomy to perform an action selected from at least two available options, unconstrained by external parties.” Freedom of choice is good. We all like freedom of choice, but there have been studies done that show that too much choice can hinder the decision-making process and not help it. Think of it this way. Have you ever gone to a restaurant where the menu is huge, with tons of options, pictures, and health information all coming at you at once and then the waitress/waiter comes by and asks for your order, and all you can do is stare up at them like a deer caught in the headlights? Now, have you ever experienced dining at a restaurant where they have one or maybe two meals on the menu for that night? You’re able to quickly make an informed decision without being swayed by any extra menu drama and the rest of the night just feels a lot calmer the overall experience at the restaurant and with the decision-making process is way more satisfying.
What should healthcare workers be asking themselves when considering vaccination?
With all that said, when you are considering your options maybe it would help to sit down and ask yourself these questions as well:
1.Am I thinking about my options with my logical brain or my emotional one?
2.What information do I have, and does it come from verifiable and reliable sources?
3.Can I perform my healthcare job without negatively affecting the health of my patients and coworkers?
4.Will I have regrets if my choice negatively affects myself, my loved ones, my patients, etc.?
At Caring SupportLinks to an external site., we appreciate every healthcare worker in Canada and the employers that continue to push through and hold steady on the healthcare frontlines. Right now, the decision to be vaccinated remains each person’s individual choice. Everyone, including healthcare workers in CanadaLinks to an external site., has a responsibility to ourselves, our loved ones, our patients, and our communities to ensure that we are making these incredibly difficult decisions based on verifiable facts and information. As Nelson Mandela once said: “May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.”
Source: https://learnmed.stanford.edu/eportfolios/189/Healthcare