Work Ethic

I'm still pretty shocked about the Belgian medical team leaving the injured in Haiti, just walking out when the UN or their agency decided there were security problems for the night.  What would have happened to the sick and injured if there hadn't been a journalist doctor with the CNN crew?

The whole story is so peculiar.  How was it that CNN was there to witness the scene and conveniently film the takeover?

There are certain professions and "status" which can't just be turned off like a car engine.

There are times when you can't just obey orders.

I had returned to teaching this year, as a substitute, in a school so large that it was made clear that if I did well, there would be work for me all year and beyond.  Even though I was pretty sure that I couldn't handle it again, I decided to try.  Maybe, if "other things" hadn't gotten in the way, taking my energy and attention, I could have returned to teaching.

If I had been offered a job which didn't demand anything other than the straight work hours, I probably could have handled it fine.  But teaching, like medicine, can take over your life.

These emergency medical teams, like in Haiti, must be organized like 24/7 hospitals with everyone working their shifts.  They can't close for the night like neighborhood clinics.

If those Belgian medical staff could desert their patients, I would be afraid to go to that country.  I don't like their mentality.