A nurse who posted a video of herself crying after the death of a patient has sparked major online backlash. The nurse has since deleted her TikTok account. However, the video can be seen in this YouTube clip via Inside Edition.
Videos By Rare
The clip has also been shared to other social media platforms, such as Twitter.
“Aw man can’t believe my patient died let me go make a tiktok rq” chided one Twitter user who reposted the video. It’s already received 15.1 Million views.
In the clip, the nurse has framed her camera to capture herself walking up to a wall. She is seen taking off her mask,and looking upset. She places her hands on her knees and bends over while emotional music plays in the background.
“Lost a patient today… Shake [it] off, you have 5 more hours,” the subtitles say.
It’s unclear if the nurse actually cries in the video. From the distance of the camera lens, it appears that her lips are pursed.
Are These Health Care Worker Videos Exploitive, Attention-Seeking?
Many are calling the video “cringe-worthy” and “attention-seeking.”
“I had a lot of people die on my watch during the pandemic– and this type of performative garbage makes me furious,” said one fellow health care worker.
Another said, “Let me set up the camera so I can cry.”
As Inside Edition points out, there has been a growing trend of health care workers posting their reactions to the deaths of patients. While some may say that it can be healthy to just want to be seen, it also brings up a question of sincerity. Indeed, there is something innately performative about setting up a camera so that you can cry on it.
And when you’re doing this for attention of some kind because a person died, does that mean you’re exploiting their death for social media likes?
Is It Unethical for a Nurse to Post This Kind of Video After a Patient Dies?
Inside Edition asked medical ethicist Professor Michael Gusmano for his take on the nurse’s actions.
“I don’t think it rises to the level of being unethical,” Gusmano said. “I thought it was probably mildly unprofessional and a little bit ‘attention-seeking.’”
Gusmano added that he hopes “that the negative attention does not detract from the important work that nurses are doing.”