Speaking from my own experience working in different hospitals, we have been overwhelmed by the public gestures towards us. Meals delivered to our floor by local restaurants and individuals, thank you cards, placards, and even seeing people standing outside with thank you signs! Other gestures of support including publicly applauding and cheering health care workers, have also been widely reported by the media.
On a personal level, I feel overwhelmed too. Random people saying thank you when they see me walking outside in my scrubs. Communicating with other necessary people during everyday tasks via phone and email, including my bank and home insurance companies—and being thanked “for my service”—is also heartwarming. I've also been flooded, as I'm sure all medical professionals have, with messages from family and friends, enquiring about my well-being and urging me to stay safe.
Of course, we are all doing our job at this time of an unprecedented national crises. It's what we are trained to do, and we do our duty with or without thank yous. But we are all human and feeling this encouragement and support from people around you, is a huge morale boost, which we are grateful for.
A Thank You back to all members of the public who have shown their support.
Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician, author and speaker. He is the founder of DocSpeak Communications and co-founder at DocsDox. He blogs at his self-titled site, where this post first appeared.
