A group of nurses at an Atlanta hospital have been fired after a video posted to social media about their labor and delivery patient “icks” went viral. 11 Alive reported the news update this past Sunday (Dec. 11).
Throughout the clip, which was shared to TikTok last week, several nurses who worked at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, Georgia mocked patients. They also complained about their biggest grievances when helping to care for expectant mothers. “Saying you don’t want any pain medicine, no epidural, but you are at an [eight] out of 10 pain,” said one woman. Another chimed in with, “When we’ve already told you to push the call light, but every five minutes, your family members come up to the front desk asking for something else.”
Watch below.
Prior to being deleted from TikTok, the video was viewed more than 100,000 times, ultimately leading social media users to speak out about the clip with the majority noting that it was a tasteless move. “This is sad and concerning… I went out of my way to leave my nurses greta surveys, but if I found out this is how they thought, I would be so upset,” wrote one user. Another responded and said, “Hearing this from L&D professionals makes me sad because these are families going through something stressful and life-changing.”
Following the incident, Emory Healthcare released a statement. “We are aware of a TikTok video that included disrespectful and unprofessional comments about maternity patients at Emory University Hospital Midtown,” revealed the company in a post shared to Instagram. “We have investigated the situation and taken appropriate actions with the former employees responsible for the video.”
Furthermore, the organization explained, “The video does not represent our commitment to patient and family-centered care and falls far short of the values and standards we expect every member of our team to hold and demonstrate.”
Read their full statement below.