An immersive reading of excerpts from the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro with reflection on professional caregivers, burnout and scapegoats.
Excerpts
It means a lot to me, being able to do my work well, especially that bit about my donors staying “calm.” I’ve developed a kind of instinct around donors. I know when to hang around and comfort them, when to leave them to themselves; when to listen to everything they have to say, and when just to shrug and tell them to snap out of it. […] I know carers, working now, who are just as good and don’t get half the credit. If you’re one of them, I can understand how you might get resentful. […] Carers aren’t machines. You try and do your best for every donor, but in the end, it wears you down. You don’t have unlimited patience and energy. (P3-4) […] And sooner or later a donor doesn’t make it even though, say, it’s only the second donation and no one anticipated complications. When a donor completes like that, out of the blue, it doesn’t make much difference what the nurses say to you afterwards […] For a while at least, you’re demoralised. Some of us learn pretty quick how to deal with it. But others [...] they never do. […] A lot of them, you can tell, are just going through the motions, waiting for the day they’re told they can stop […] They don’t know what to say to the whitecoats, they can’t make themselves speak up on behalf of their donor. No wonder they end up feeling frustrated and blaming themselves when things go wrong. I try not to make a nuisance of myself, but I’ve figured out how to get my voice heard when I have to. And when things go badly, of course I’m upset, but at least I can feel I’ve done all I could and keep things in perspective. (p207- 208)
References
Kazuo Ishiguro, Never let me go, Vintage Books. NY 2005.
Travers JL, Teitelman AM, Jenkins KA, Castle NG. Exploring social-based discrimination among nursing home certified nursing assistants. Nurs Inq. 2020 Jan;27(1):e12315.
Emily Paulin. COVID-19 Deaths in Nursing Homes Plummet, Staff and PPE Shortages Persist. AARP. https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/health/info-2021/nursing-home-covid-deaths-down-shortages-continue.html Published 3/11/2021. Accessed 10/17/2021.
Kandelman N, Mazars T, Levy A. Risk factors for burnout among caregivers working in nursing homes. J Clin Nurs. 2018 Jan;27(1-2):e147-e153.
Brene Brown. Daring Greatly. Gotham Books. 2012.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/20/health/nursing-homes-covid-vaccine-mandate.html Accessed 10/21/21.
https://www.aapacn.org/article/covid-19-staff-vaccination-rates-tips-from-facilities-that-achieved-90-100-percent/ Accessed 10/31/21.
