Deaf doctor describes barriers and successes in working through pandemic
Here is a story from deaf doctor Dr. Zach Featherstone who said he was asked to stop working in a COVID-19 testing tent by an attending physician because he was deaf. He had to stand up for himself.
DR. ZACH FEATHERSTONE:
One day while I was sitting at my job, where people could use walkie-talkies, I’d have my interpreter listen to the device while signing the information out loud so I could locate the patient’s name and information on our database to be documented for nasal swab testing. However, during the first 5 minutes, when I had to learn the process first and one of the hospital administrators seemingly to say on impulse that I, as a deaf person, should be replaced by someone else more capable for the job. Well…of course, I snapped, and I responded by saying, “No!”
“I’m doing my job so just give me 5 minutes to assess and observe the situation before I proceed so there isn’t a need to worry.”
The hospital administrator pushed on and insisted that I be replaced for this assignment. I continued to insist that I was doing my job, but then I stood up. I said, “Do you want my help or not?!”
It was a tense situation for us, the hospital administrator wasn’t sure how to proceed and I stepped back to allow them to proceed. Then someone from higher up who had been working that tent had heard about our disagreement then had approached me. I told them flatly that they need to give me 5 minutes to prepare. They agreed to 5 minutes and if I was still not prepared then I was to be replaced. I agreed to this and went straight to work. I went on an absolute roll and it was a smooth process without any problems. A few hours later, the hospital administrators actually came back and shared that I was the fastest one they’ve had in terms of testing each patient case by case. Of course, I was! I just need a few minutes to learn how to do my job and they shouldn’t be so rash in taking deaf employees away from their work. It’s just not right and what is interesting is on that day, after I’d been working so hard, the last car had pulled up to us. There were people in the car having a discussion while we were waiting for them. Then finally we got a notification on our phone that “we need Dr. Zach”.
This made me wonder and I walked up the last car. I realized that the occupants of the car were a deaf couple who used sign language. So, I greeted and communicated with them in sign language. All of this took just one minute. It was easy while with everyone else, it didn’t work as well as it did with me and the deaf couple using sign language. So, these two administrators who tried to pull me out of the tent have now realized that we do need deaf doctors, deaf nurses and deaf technicians! Of course, there is actually such a thing as “Deaf Gain!”
THE DAILY MOTH:
He is no stranger to standing up for his rights. When he was a medical student, he had to file a lawsuit against his medical school because they refused to provide him with CART and interpreting services. He won his lawsuit. I actually covered that on one of my first “The Daily Moth” episodes in 2014. Here’s an old video.
…When Zachary was admitted, they deferred his admission and said that his deafness would endanger patients in an emergency situation because it would take too long to translate from spoken language to a language that he could understand. The (medical school) also said it would affect other students to have an unequal educational experience because of the interpreters being present. C’mon! Give me an A-U-D-I-S-M! Audism.
Wow, that was six years ago. I’m glad that Dr. Featherstone is now a doctor and I’m still doing the news!
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Now he will describe challenges and barriers that deaf doctors, nurses, those in hospital settings are facing during this time of Covid-19.
DR. FEATHERSTONE:
Yes, it is difficult considering that everyone has to wear a mask now. It’s really hard to read anyone’s facial expressions or lipread. Despite this, I have to accept this to an extent and I always have my interpreter with me as I work so that’s how I’ve been communicating. However, I’ve noticed that all people, not just deaf, hard of hearing and not just people from different countries, everybody has noticed how difficult it is to communicate with those surgical masks. Whenever someone speaks while wearing these masks, it can get distorted making it harder to, really, communicate with people anywhere. Also, there’s one another thing that I’ve noticed among my deaf and hard of hearing friends who are doctors, nurses or technicians themselves also have cochlear implants and wearing these masks can give you headaches all day. I get these headaches every day, but I’ve accepted that as a part of my job.
THE DAILY MOTH:
I can imagine it’s tough for deaf professionals. It’s more challenging. Deaf people are on the frontlines as well. Now he will explain his perspectives on positive implications of changes on how we do healthcare. He will describe an idea for deaf people who want to be treated by deaf doctors.
DR. FEATHERSTONE:
Nowadays, with coronavirus, we are depending on telemedicine. Back then, deaf and hard of hearing patients would have to stick with their local doctors who might not communicate well. Now, they can videoconference with deaf or hard of hearing or doctors who can communicate using ASL. There are opportunities for us now! Really, for all deaf and hard of hearing people who work in the medical field, I urge them to check out the AMPHL, Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Loss, which has a website (amphl.org) and they have a wealth of good information and assistance for people who work in that field and need ideas and help. They can just go to that website.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Thank you for your time, Dr. Featherstone. He is currently training as a pediatrician at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Medicine. You can follow him and his partner, a deaf medical student, Ian DeAndrea-Lazarus, who have collaborated to start “Deaf in Scrubs,” an informative channel on health topics in ASL.
https://www.deafinscrubs.com/about-us
amphl.org