The video was deemed “disrespectful and unprofessional” by Emory Healthcare, which noted that the employees no longer work there.
Last week, four employees wearing nurse scrubs at an Atlanta hospital revealed their “icks” regarding labor and delivery patients in a TikTok video.
“My ick is when you come in for your induction and ask, ‘Can I take a shower and eat?'”. A nurse begins the video. “My ick is when you ask me how much the baby weighs and it’s still… in your hands,” said another nurse.
The TikTok trend, which has been around for at least two years, typically involves users exposing their dating turnoffs. According to their employer, Emory Healthcare, the healthcare workers at Emory University Hospital Midtown crossed a line when they made the “icks” video.
Emory Healthcare wrote in a statement posted online Thursday, after the video drew widespread criticism, that it had “taken appropriate action with the former employees responsible for the video.”
“This video does not represent our commitment to patient- and family-centered care. It falls far short of the values and standards we expect every member of our team to hold and demonstrate.” The statement went on to say.
Emory Healthcare did not respond to a request from The Washington Post for clarification on whether the workers were fired or left on their own accord on Sunday night.
While the original 52-second video has since been removed, copies have circulated on social media in the last week. There were also prompting comments from some pregnant patients who said the nurses’ remarks only added to their anxiety about childbirth.
Maternal mortality rates in the United States have risen in recent years. Georgia had the highest maternal mortality rates in the United States. According to a study published last year in the International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS. With 46.2 deaths per 100,000 live births for all women and 66.6 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women.
According to Uma M. Reddy, an obstetrics and gynecology professor at Columbia University, the quality of care patients receive influences these issues.
“Well-supported patients do much better and have better outcomes.” “These kinds of comments make you wonder if patients are being listened to,” Reddy said of the nurses’ TikTok video.
Some hospitals establish their own social media policies, but the American Nurses Association provides general guidelines on its website, including advice for nurses to avoid “heavy self-promotion” while “maintaining a respectable presence” at all times.
According to Reddy, nurses should recognize that patients will naturally have requests and concerns during what is often a stressful procedure for them.
“Childbirth is a situation where you rely on nurses and healthcare providers to support you and listen,” Reddy explained. “It’s a big unknown, and you rely on the nurse for guidance.”
