Urgent care - I feel like patients don’t care if we get sick from them

I work at an urgent care and 90% of our patients present with the same things - cough, nasal congestion, fever, sore throat. In the days leading up to thanksgiving, nearly everyone said they just wanted to be tested for covid/flu/strep so that they wouldn’t infect their family over the holiday. These same patients were maskless and would cough / sneeze on me, other providers, MAs, etc. It infuriates me that they seemingly only care if they spread their illness to their loved ones, but not if they infect healthcare staff. Working with sick patients is part of the job, so I’m not complaining about that aspect bc I took an oath to care for them. I would just like a small amount of the courtesy shown to them to be reciprocated for members of staff. Do patients think that healthcare workers are immune to all communicable diseases? Or do they just not care? This is troubling me and dampening my morale. I am genuinely hoping for insight.

https://ift.tt/7BWmqF9 Submitted November 23, 2023 at 04:10PM by bepbep1951 https://ift.tt/3h9zeQS