Author: Associate Professor Nada Hamad | 4 weeks ago

Entering the healthcare industry is a mission and mission. The ability to support another person in times of need, vulnerability, and fear is an indescribable privilege. As medical staff, we experience pain, heartbreak, joy and victory with patients every day. We have a window into the human condition that constitutes our own lives and shapes our view of the world.  

Women are very effective in crises. This is why most people call their wives, mothers or sisters when they are sick. We see this in medicine every day. No matter what the job is, we will roll up our sleeves and start working. During the COVID crisis throughout Australia, health care workers were mainly women, including half of the state and territory chief health officers.  

With the ups and downs of the pandemic, female medical staff are exhausted and lose motivation. We are asked to do more for more people with less time and fewer resources. Of course, this is not unexpected in a pandemic.  

Our workday is complicated by longer hours, countless virtual technology platforms, the heat and discomfort of PPE, and the threat of COVID in treating patients. We believe that public health measures and strategies can provide services to our patients, and we will do our part. Nevertheless, as the pandemic has twisted and changed, the goalposts are constantly changing. Over time, this juggling has paid its price. Coupled with the unpredictability of on-site outbreaks and labor exhaustion caused by exposure to COVID, the mental burden has become almost unbearable. 

The risk of suicide for doctors is higher than that of the general population. Female doctors are at higher risk, and the rate of doctor burnout has increased during the pandemic. An international case study of nurse suicides shows that media coverage has increased during the peak of the international pandemic. 

Work pressure is high enough, but the surge in women’s family life responsibilities during the pandemic has been a turning point for many of us. At the best time, the mental burden of being a mother or caregiver occupies a lot of bandwidth. Annabel Crabb aptly called it the "mosquito cloud with tiny responsibility" in the 7.30 series "Why Women Are Angry".  

Now, considering the impact of the pandemic and the lockdown life — those of us who have children go to school at home — this is enough to paralyze the best of us. It is unbearable for people to always worry about accidentally taking COVID home to parents or vulnerable family members and young children who are not yet eligible for vaccination.  

Personally, one of the challenges I face is managing children's anxiety about COVID. My 7-year-old daughter expressed doubts and refutations about my attempts at comfort, which is something I face every day.  

"Mummy, I know you said that if I contract COVID-19, it is like a cold, but if it is not serious and will kill you, why does the world become so crazy?" 

So, every day I try to hide my growing tiredness, and at the same time I find some positive and reassuring things to say. Like many women, I had to organize endless zoom game dates with equally busy parents to find new ways to support their social lives. I have ordered various necessities online in advance to arrive when they are needed for school projects or presentations; priority is given to endless housework so that the family does not drown in unwashed clothes and dishes at the end of a long day of work inside. I have been calling out the very familiar song "Mom, Mom, Mom..." in the background.  

Now, as we prepare for the new normal, returning to school in New South Wales and Victoria brings more challenges. We must be vigilant for any symptoms and be prepared to keep our children at home and even quarantine if they are in contact with COVID. 

There is no doubt that women have been hit hard economically by COVID, and we enjoy privileges in the healthcare sector, and are protected to some extent by these losses.  

We are willing and able to provide services, but we need to consider the increasing and unsustainable burden on female health workers without additional support.  

COVID-19 is not over yet. With the relaxation of the blockades in New South Wales and Victoria, social distancing gradually disappears, the discipline of wearing masks is reduced, borders are opened, and the spread of the virus will rise. Even if the vaccination rate in Australia is high, the number of hospitalizations may increase accordingly.  

While many people celebrate a sense of normality, health care workers and our fragile and immunocompromised patients still bear the brunt. Without a circuit breaker, this load would not be able to withstand it.  

We need to find ways to support women among health care workers so that they can continue to serve the public without risking personal or family health.  

Although universal free child care and narrowing the gender pay gap are certainly long-term goals, in the short term, we can at least consider women’s responsibilities and ask them whether they are capable of doing more before letting them do so. 

COVID-19 Women in Health Care Workers Women in Health Care

Associate Professor Nada Hamad

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