Healthcare Workers in Full Gear Wear Photos Of Themselves To Put Patients At Ease
“A reassuring smile makes a big difference to a scared patient.”
While masks and other protective gear are essential for healthcare workers to stay safe while treating coronavirus patients (and unfortunately at a premium), they also make it difficult for isolated patients to feel connected to the only other humans they are allowed to be in contact with.
But some healthcare workers have come up with a clever way to make that connection with isolated patients by wearing pictures of themselves on their protective gear. The photos allow patients to see the faces of the people treating them and hopefully put them more at ease.
The sweet trend started after San Diego respiratory therapist Robertino Rodriguez posted a picture of himself on Instagram with his name and photo attached to his protective gear.
“Yesterday I felt bad for my patients in ER when I would come in the room with my face covered in PPE. A reassuring smile makes a big difference to a scared patient,” he explained in the post. “So today I made a giant laminated badge for my PPE. So my patients can see a reassuring and comforting smile.”
Rodriguez’s post has since gone viral, with other healthcare workers coveting his clever idea to wear smiling photos of themselves, or other enjoyable imagery.