|
Dying alone is a fear many face at the end-of-life. Closure from family can help combat the loss of control many feel as they go through the dying process, and traditionally, hospital visits from loved ones have been encouraged at the end-of-life. However, the COVID-19 era has brought about many changes in hospital policies and procedures. Drastic steps have been taken to slow the spread of the virus, including limiting or banning hospital visitors in the hardest-hit locations [1]. While these measures are well intended and even considered necessary in some instances, they have complicated end-of-life situations for patients and their loved ones. The moral distress hospital staff face when choosing to enforce health and safety policies over providing patients with the closure in their transition out of life is immense. Institutions across the United States have risen to the occasion, innovating new uses for telehealth to keep patients virtually connected with their families during their hospital stays [2]. Other facilities have considered allowing a limited number of visitors given they can be swiftly tested for COVID-19, taught how to properly wear PPE, and expected to comply with proper sanitation regulations [3]. However, even this possibility comes with scrutiny: How will hospitals decide who gets to visit and who doesn’t? Will families be judged on their perceived ability to comply with protocol? And which patients will be permitted visitors? Regardless of how hospitals choose to ease the burden of end-of-life complications during the pandemic, the decisions made today will have a long-term impact on families of those lost. Many will be left with questions about how their loved ones spent their final moments and the care they received in the hospital [4]. Some may even be left with a sour-taste in their mouths, feeling as though the policies in place to protect patients end up doing more harm than good. Now more than ever, it is imperative health care workers establish communication with families and extend empathetic guidance during the course of a patient’s hospital stay. While the pandemic will continue to place an extra burden on end-of-life situations for patients, families, and the healthcare team, hospitals continue to explore their options to provide adequate closure. Virtual alternatives, tightly regulated visits, and enhanced communication are only a few of the ways hospitals are challenging the ethical and healthcare dilemmas brought about by COVID-19. As hospitals become more comfortable navigating the alternatives to a traditional end-of-life process, it is the hope more patients will experience a dignified transition out of life with the support of their loved ones physically or virtually at their bedside.
0 Comments
“Science is what keeps us alive, but love and music is what we stay alive for.” It’s not the exact quote from Dead Poet’s Society, but it’s one that I’ve held dearly for most of my life. Being raised by a musician and a math teacher, this is the sort of dichotomy I see the world in: the pull between science and art. Whether you’re pulled to one side or the other, we do need both around us to lead happy and fulfilling lives, but sadly a large facet of one may be dwindling away. When COVID hit, musicians and performers across the country asked themselves the same question: “When can I perform again, and how long can I afford to wait?” I know this wasn’t limited to musicians; across fields unemployment has skyrocketed since the start of quarantine. But I want to help explain why this time may be especially hard for musicians. First, I’d like to emphasize I’m speaking of “musicians” as whole, not the few and proud whose names we all know by heart, but the millions of Americans that play locally (or even luckily on tour) whose sole income is their art. The process of becoming a professional musician is one of the least stable, least profitable, and least attainable career paths to follow. You have to start at a young age, with an arguably large level of innate talent, and work tirelessly just to get a shot. I remember hearing stories my dad told me about aspiring musicians around him playing near perfect pieces for final approvals yet being asked to leave their respective music programs because it “wasn’t good enough.” And after everything, if you somehow find a spot, most performances thereafter are still make-it-or-break-it scenarios, forcing you to professionally and financially depend on each step into the limelight. Yet undeterred, so many choose this path because of their incomprehensible love for what they do. So, for those suddenly thrust out of their dream into a world without performances, what option do they have? Now, some of you may be thinking, “Why can’t they just record and release from home?” It’s a viable option, as the vast majority of people consume music this way. But there are a few problems with this. As said, many a performer’s income is solely dependent on their performances; it isn’t a substantially lucrative field for everyone that gives it a try. The cost of proper recording set up, no matter how small, is a huge barrier for aspiring musicians or even established to continue their work from home. But let’s forget that and say they’re secure enough to do so, are they a solo act? A great number of professional musicians perform in larger groups like bands and orchestras; it’s sad to say but what kind of commercial appeal would one who plays 2nd part violin in an orchestra have on Spotify by themselves? Their specific talent may not be viable to produce alone without accompaniment, which is extremely difficult if not impossible in a quarantined world. But let’s even go as far to say they have the money and they have the means of getting the gang together, how well are they really known? Artists make a fraction of a fraction for every streamed listen they get, so split amongst their members, they may have to ask, “Will this be enough to live on?” I’d argue regrettably for most the answer would be no. This is why a small but beautiful part of the music industry is dying. I know what some of you may be thinking: this is upsetting, but it’s by no means as crucial as the issue of the disease itself. And to that I entirely agree. It may even anger some to focus on the importance of lesser known musicians in a time like this, which I also understand. But if you would, I’d like you go think about the quote at the beginning. And if you’d indulge me… I’d like you to imagine you are a musician. The reason you get up in the morning and what drives you, what is inextricably part of your soul, is gone. Now I’d like you to think about a world without your favorite movie, your favorite play, favorite painting, or any various aspect of art that move you and make you feel. We don’t live in that world, but we do live in a time where guitarists are packing up their strings, where film students are graduating into a market where productions are dying, where that smalltime band you love has dissolved for good. And as COVID continues, more and more of those avenues we love will fade away. No, it’s not the single greatest problem we are facing right now, but every day I can’t help but feel we are losing a bit more and more of what it means to be human and the weirdly wonderful intricacies that make us “us.” For me, a world without music is a world without feeling or joy or love. I pray for the safety and happiness of everyone in this time, and I dream of the day that this is behind us. When that day comes, I hope I’ll cherish more the music of those who gave everything for the chance to give to us, and I hope I’ll appreciate more the blessed sacrifices they’ve made to move me.
In March 2020, over a thousand United States colleges and universities made the decision to close their campuses and shift to online learning for the remainder of the spring semester in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While administrators and public health officials agreed that school closures would be instrumental in slowing the spread of the novel respiratory virus, the effects of online learning were felt throughout higher education (1). Students expressed concerns with regards to grades, credits, postponed exams, lost income from on-campus work, and access to technology off-campus (2). Particularly vulnerable were international students who faced the compounded challenges of travel bans and campus closures (2). Students and administrators alike were worried early on that continuation of online classes would not satisfy visa requirements for full-times students (2). Fast-forward to July 6, 2020, when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced new regulations stating that (3): “Nonimmigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States… Active students currently in the United States enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status. If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.” The policy prevents international students from retaining their F-1 visas if their course of study is entirely online. This announcement followed statements from major institutions publicizing their decisions to provide solely online instruction for the fall. The regulations raise concerns within the international student community with regards to safety, well-being, financial stability, and educational pursuits. If enforced, students will be in a position which would require them to risk their health to travel to their home country and pay extra penalties for breaking leases in the United States. Some international students will be returning to countries with entry restrictions that are in conflict zones, in areas with limited technology access, or in different time zones. Due to the uncertainty of future directives and the remaining high cost of tuition for international students, some have already made the hard decision of postponing their education. Over a million international students contribute to the entire United States student population (4). They enrich our educational spaces by offering perspectives from all across the globe. Since the announcement, several schools, including Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of California, have joined together to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration to protect international student visas. Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia plans to join an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit as they plan to reopen with a mixture of online and in-person course offerings to their student body (5). The effect of COVID-19 continues to resonate through higher education as many campuses prepare to reopen for the fall semester. As the number of coronavirus cases continues to peak in the United States, the capacity for in-person classes in universities is threatened. These issues will unequally affect domestic and international students, however, university administrators across the nation have demonstrated their interest in supporting the international student community. For more information, please visit: https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1237MqzCVFgSjB15PKk8hCfF4ZWhrwbcWe0P4rgQkONE/mobilebasic?usp=gmail
|
AuthorsChristina (Ha Eun) Cho, M2 |
RSS Feed