Numerous articles have illuminated the stress and fatigue of nurses working through the pandemic. Ironically, the plight of nurses who became passionately outspoken during COVID has received less attention by the press. Many of those nurses are now in litigation, attempting to reclaim jobs they lost following an episode of speaking out as concerned providers.
Aggrieved nurses wanted to clarify what they believed to be unspeakable conditions, especially those alarmed regarding the quality and quantity of PPE, nurse-patient ratios (staffing conditions), or the lengthy hours they worked providing care. Frustrated, they may have found themselves providing sound bites for the press. In the heat of the moment, nurses believed the public needed to know what only they could explain; they believed a "whistleblower" critique was warranted.
Unfortunately, for nurses brave enough to speak out and critique employers, many found themselves abruptly terminated, as well as incredibly surprised by the action.
One of the more recent episodes involved a nurse terminated by Kaiser Permanente Hospitalin California. Unvaccinated, she believed the hospital should have been willing to accept her religious exemption to receiving the COVID vaccine. Escorted by security off hospital grounds, the unnamed nurse loudly tried to engage bystanders into her predicament by talking about "what she was willing to do for freedom." As much as she longed for validation by the crowd, the display may have equally dismayed her employers.
