Emory Healthcare has disciplined four labor and delivery nurses who went to TikTok to post a video about patient behaviors they hate. The nurses, who can be seen wearing Emory University healthcare uniforms in the video, recorded the clip to mimic a social media trend which requires people to reveal what gives them the “ick” about dating.
As the nurses performed a hospital version of the trend, one of them said “my ick is when you ask me how much the baby weighs, and it’s still in your hands.”
“Saying you don’t want any pain medicine, no epidural, but you are at an eight out of ten pain,” another added.
The clip continued with another nurse saying it’s annoying “when the dad comes outside and asks for a paternity test right outside the room door.”
Atlanta’s Emory Hospital Midtown has fired four labor and delivery nurses after they shared their “icks” about maternity patients on TikTok. pic.twitter.com/kusLMVVzcA
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 11, 2022
Social media users followed up with backlash, with many saying the nurses lack empathy for patients.
“Pregnant with my first and idk how to feel about this video,” one person said. “My ick is when people work in healthcare and don’t have compassion for people.”
In a statement on Instagram, Emory Healthcare said it took “appropriate actions” against the nurses. Although the Georgia-based university system didn’t clarify the exact consequences, the statement described the nurses as “former employees.”
“We are aware of the TikTok video that included disrespectful and unprofessional comments about maternity patients,” the organization stated. “This video does not represent our commitment to patient- and family-centered care and falls short of the values and standards we expect every member of our team to hold and demonstrate.”
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According to BuzzFeed, the the TikTok account which posted the controversial video was deactivated amid the backlash, but then reactivated.
