Stories from Healthcare Workers: Part I
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has brought Healthcare Workers from the safety of inside hospitals and offices to the forefront of the news. They are not only the most compassionate and selfless people, but also family, friends, and some are Buddhist. How has Buddhism influenced their perspective as a healthcare worker/student? Please join us in showing appreciating those that keep us healthy, by allowing those in the background to share their stories.
Nancy Aochi
She/Her/Hers
Physical Therapist in California
San Jose Buddhist Church
As a Buddhist, one of my aspirations is to “be kind and gentle to every living thing” according to the Golden Chain. I keep these wise words close to my heart. I chose to become a physical therapist because I wanted a job that was meaningful and positive, one that made a difference in people’s lives. When I go to work each day, I try my best to be open-minded with my patients. Sometimes it’s hard to do! I ask myself, “what would be the wisest and most compassionate way to help this person?” I realize that no two people are the same. Each of us has a different story and a different past. When I work with a patient, I try to remember that each of us has our own perspective, influencing our thoughts and actions. Being open-minded is one of the most important qualities in my job. It allows me to more fully understand my patients and how to help them. I am grateful to be a Buddhist and have the opportunity to help people as a physical therapist. Now as a parent, I get to teach my three daughters to “be kind and gentle to every living thing”, which means a lot to me. I hope they will continue to hear the wise words of the Golden Chain in their minds, as they grow up, go out in the world, and make choices about who they want to be.
Meghan Horn
She/Her/Hers
School of Nursing at Gonzaga University, Minor in Psychology
Seattle Buddhist Church
I chose nursing because I have always wanted to work in the healthcare field. I felt that working at bedside and also doing a bunch of technical skills was a really good fit for me. I wanted to be able to have a relationship with the patient, but also having a significant medical responsibility at the same time.The unit that I work in is called ‘Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation,’ like a nursing home setting. Some of the most striking experiences I have had are with the patients put on hospice. We have patients, for whatever reason, that choose to do hospice in our assistant nursing facility. Being a CNA, a Certified Nursing Assistant, you do the Activities of Daily Living. You are with them all the time, making sure they are comfortable. Usually they can’t really move, so you clean their mouth, clean their lips, keep their dignity. If it’s a man, you can shave their face. You do the little things to keep their dignity while they are dying. My interest in the healthcare field and values and morals of Buddhism are very closely tied, so I felt that in choosing nursing as a profession it aligned with my core values. Things like compassion and helping those who are more vulnerable and those that don’t have someone to speak up for them. Especially in a situation when a patient gets to an unresponsive point, you have to talk to them as if they still can hear you. It’s a respect of dignity thing. You still want to be respectful of that person. It’s not just about me: “I have to go into this room and perform this task for this person.” It’s this person’s life. You have to be super conscious of being respectful of that. My job right now as a CNA at a nursing home, our values of patience and listening makes me grateful for Buddhism. It has steered me towards a really cool profession. I can’t wait to go out and be a nurse.
Find support in each other. Lean on each other. Keep feeding into the sense of community because that is what’s going to help us all get through it.
Yvonne Otani
She/Her/Hers
Pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente, South Sacramento
Sacramento Buddhist Temple
My autistic patient sat shyly in the corner, holding her extremity very still and crying. We had seen this child twice on video visits but her infection was progressing, and we needed to see her in person. She had already been screened for symptoms of COVID19 so we made an appointment for her to come see me. Although I knew it would be uncomfortable, I also knew it needed to be done before committing her to possible drainage of the infection with an operation and then a course in the hospital for intravenous antibiotics. With her mom’s help and after significant struggle, I was finally able to hold the extremity down enough to take two good pictures and exam it. After consultation, she was taken to the operating room and then admitted for intravenous antibiotics. The following morning, her COVID19 test returned positive, a surprise to all since she was asymptomatic. The test was done as surveillance for admission to the hospital. I had been exposed by an unmasked and combative patient.It would have been natural to be worried, upset, and bitter over this exposure, but Buddhism has taught me so much about gratitude, acceptance, and resilience. Instead of anger, there was acceptance of a situation which could no longer be changed. Instead of anxiety, there was gratitude for being in a profession in which I can help children and still have a job. Instead of being immobilized by worry for my family and me, there was the ability to take each day as it came and live with no regrets. Many of my old friends and colleagues in private practice have taken significant pay cuts or sold their practices as their patient volume decreased with the sheltering in place orders. COVID19 has presented great challenges to all of us, but certainly will not be the last challenge of the medical profession. We, as physicians, have much for which to be grateful. We, as people, should be grateful for each new day.
Mae Yamasaki
She/Her/Hers
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Multicare Mary Bridge Evergreen Clinic
Seattle Buddhist Temple
Is this my personality that makes my work the way I look at work? Or, my Buddhism? My coworker says it's my personality. But I'm like, I don't know. So many parts of my work, Buddhism comes out and through. As I get older, I'm getting wiser. I'm laid back. I listen to people. I've just noticed the way I am. I try not to get angry. I guess it's kind of a life choice I made. When I'm looking at work I take the Middle Road. There is no black and white in medicine. There's a lot of gray. We make those great choices which you can call the Middle Road. I think a lot of medicine is listening to people. You compile. You make a decision with all the information you get from the person, and from my facts put it together, make a choice. For example, I had a student nurse practitioner. She was just graduating. To her, an ear infection ‘has to look exactly like ‘this’ when I look at it. Otherwise I will not treat it with antibiotics.’ Well sometimes the ear doesn't look like a textbook ear infection now, and may look like one in a few days. But by then, the kid’s got other symptoms, like fever and miserable pain. That's the difference between school and real life. Real life is you listening to all the facts. You make a decision whether you want to treat because sometimes it just makes sense to treat even though the ear, even if it doesn't look like the textbook, just in case.
It's gonna be a long road. You guys keep the good work up. My additional words are kind of pointed towards the youth: keep doing what you're doing. Keep fighting the good fight. But also remember that us older folks move a little slower than you do. Remember to be respectful.
John Nishimoto
They/Them/Theirs
Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Professional Affairs at Marshall B. Ketchum University, Southern California College of Optometry
Orange County Buddhist Church
I was never a person who practiced Buddhism consciously. It was just part of me growing up. What does that mean for me? In dealing with the situations surrounding the pandemic, there’s a lot of stress involved. I try to be a role model for my students. To convey a lot of compassion and patience and understanding. I think it has helped me understand people from all levels and all angles, a lot more from if I were not to practice Buddhism. I think I am much more of a rounded person, with a compassionate side. I have gained a perspective on how to manage a number of situations. In a much more patient manner. I am able to take care of matters, managing matters in a much more patient, level-headed way of doing things. In a couple of student situations, they had missed a clinical assignment and it wasn’t because it was of their fault. But it was very easy for a lot of the faculty members to put a lot of the blame on students. I think twenty years ago, before I started practicing Buddhism seriously, I would’ve put a lot of serious blame on the students too. But it wasn’t really their fault. Dealing with this situation many years later, now, I said to my students, “I did a similar thing as a student. Those things happen. If you feel really bad about it - don’t. Those things happen in life.” I think Buddhism has allowed me to gain a broad perspective, in a shorter amount of time. Buddhism has helped me see both sides. It helps you understand the ‘why.’
To the healthcare workers: No matter how much appreciation we show them, they will still be underappreciated. There is a very tough battle they are facing right now. It’s a battle. They are the most patient and well-rounded perspective people because they have to, to take care of the patient.
