Use your heart in your work. If we talk about this, we must say that it is something that is required in almost every profession. But there is one profession, which is medical personnel, that has now become a group of professions that require the use of their heart in their work the most. And they come with a lot of sacrifice to help our Thai brothers and sisters in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis that we are facing right now.
“We live in a new world where the old way of life may no longer be possible.”
In a situation like this, for ordinary people like us, even going out to find food in front of the village has become difficult. Now every area in Thailand has become a risk area for COVID-19. We all try to protect ourselves from the disease by not trying to travel to risk areas and avoiding close contact with people who are at risk.
But there is another group of people whose routines are completely opposite to ours because they need to be close to the risk group. The higher the risk, the closer they need to be to them. They are the group of people who sacrifice closeness to infected people and are at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19.
“Because in every crisis, there are always people who sacrifice the most.”
Today, medical personnel are truly selfless people who use their hearts to work.
Today, the admin will introduce them through an interview with Pee Waen or Ms. Prisana Patumonan, Director of Nursing, Thammasat University Hospital, a medical personnel at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19.
The beginning of the fight against an unknown enemy
Back when Thailand first learned about COVID-19 as the coronavirus that was spreading violently in Wuhan, Pee Waen told us that volunteer nurses were sought from around the country and more than 40 people volunteered themselves to work here. At that time, it was predicted that the virus would reach Thailand, so the disease control unit had to urgently study symptoms, prevention, and risk areas.
In addition to studying information about the disease, we also had to prepare the place and personnel. At that time, we had to transform a building that used to be a bank into a building that could screen both patients and people at risk of COVID-19. We had to arrange for staff, nurses, and medical personnel to be trained, workshops, and provide knowledge because they had to become the front line in dealing with the coronavirus.
Short-term preparation
Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in Thailand, the medical profession has had very little time to prepare for studying and understanding. Therefore, the hospital has set up a crisis team and has asked for cooperation from personnel and staff from the ICU to study and attend workshops seriously. There are professors and disease control units who have cooperated to teach patient care guidelines and prevention methods for medical personnel and staff who have to be in close contact with both patients and risk groups.
The first and most important thing that hospitals need to prepare for is to try to study and find out what symptoms COVID-19 patients have, how they can be separated, how they can be detected, and where they come from at risk. This is one of the first things that hospitals need to do to prevent COVID-19 patients from mixing with other patients.
We were able to get through the crisis because everyone was willing to cooperate.
When the building was opened to accommodate COVID-19 patients, it was necessary to find personnel to work in this area. Therefore, we had to ask for cooperation from the Internal Medicine Department, which is normally responsible for stroke patients, to come and help take care of COVID-19 patients. We also asked for medical equipment to be shared for use in this area.
This is something that Phi Waen admires and is very impressed by because Thammasat University Hospital gives full freedom to medical personnel. If anyone is uncomfortable with any part of their work, they can express their opinions. But whenever they need help or cooperation, whether it be in terms of personnel, equipment, or space, everyone is always ready to lend a hand and help willingly, even though at that time there was not even a vaccine.
“I have to go home and see my son. I’m afraid he’ll infect him.”
When there were COVID-19 infections in both the first and second rounds, two more wards were added to accommodate COVID-19 patients who were confirmed positive. The medical personnel who came to work here are considered to be the ones closest to the infected patients. The more the disease spreads, the more the concerns of the frontline medical personnel increase because they have families that they have to go back to, just like all patients.
“We take care of our staff’s bodies and minds so that they can provide the best care to their patients.”
Phi Waen told us that medical personnel come to work here with the desire to treat and help every patient. Therefore, we must ensure the safety of all personnel in their work, whether it be food, accommodation, insurance, the standards of every piece of medical equipment, including the ventilation system in the ward that accepts COVID-19 patients.
On the day that personnel were infected with COVID-19
Previously, there was news that Thammasat University Hospital staff were infected with COVID-19, which led to questions about the safety within the hospital. In the first round of news, the infected person was a patient who came to receive treatment in the hospital and was not wearing a mask. On the medical staff side, no one was infected. However, in the second round, the infected person was one of the staff, but not a medical staff.
Phi Waen said that the most important thing is to solve the problem after that. We must praise medical personnel in all departments. Everyone is trying their best to stop the infection. They have closed the service, quarantined those who have been in close contact with infected people and those who are at risk, publicized the situation, and took the best care of infected people.
“We can’t be at the end, we have to be at the forefront.”
Phi Waen said that from the first day, it was like a rehearsal, where everyone had to study from books, textbooks, training, and workshops to prepare for treating each patient case. Now it’s time to go into the real field, where in addition to using all the knowledge learned to treat patients, we also have to be ready to learn from real situations all the time. Therefore, the most important thing is to “use knowledge to build confidence.”
In addition, Thammasat University Hospital has also sent medical personnel with knowledge and skills to various hospitals to be at the forefront of treating and preventing COVID-19.
“Everyone knows what their duties are. They must take responsibility for their patients, themselves, and their families.”
What makes Phi Waen most proud of in the medical staff of Thammasat University Hospital is that everyone knows without having to explain or force anything. They understand their duties and take responsibility for their own parts very well. Everyone is willing to help each other. The supervisors of each department know and understand, which allows them to greatly empower their team members in each department.
Conclusion
Everyone must have known about the preparation process, working and dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. The most obvious thing in these working processes is the teamwork of all personnel in the hospital. Everyone has the heart to help each other, does not shirk work, and tries to complete the team and each other to the best of their ability.
What makes this task even more difficult is that COVID-19 is a disease that is constantly evolving, so all medical personnel need to keep up with the development of the disease.
“We will get through this together.”
From talking to Phi Waen, it shows everyone how all medical personnel use their hearts to work, their courage to be the front line to fight, treat and protect everyone from COVID-19, and also their great efforts to build confidence and trust in all of us.
Follow the story behind the crisis and the actions of medical personnel at Thammasat University Hospital in dealing with the COVID situation in the program Unmask Story, stories behind the masks of medical personnel at Thammasat University Hospital.
Use your heart to work | Thammasat University Hospital
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