Overworked, exhausted and tired doctors are not machines and they need rest too. This message needed to be sent across after a medical student was slammed by patients for sleeping at a hospital while on duty.
It all started a month ago, when a patient at a hospital in Mexico, snapped a photo of a junior doctor asleep during her overnight shift. This patient then shared the photos alongside a post which read: “We are aware that this is a tiring job but doctors are obliged to do their work. There are dozens of patients in need of attention“.
The blog created a stir. Doctors in Mexico were outraged and decided to defend the medical student by highlighting the nature of their gruelling shifts, and pointing out why they should be treated like human beings.
Mexican doctor Juan Carlos, defended the young doctor by using the hashtag #YoTambienMeDormi (“I’ve also fallen asleep”). “I’ve also fallen asleep after operating on one, two, three and even four patients on any regular shift,” he wrote on Twitter.
#yotambienmedormi, después de operar 1,2,3 y cuatro pacientes en una guardia cualquiera
— darthdead (@juancar70795011) May 5, 2015
“I wanted to expose the differences between the rights of doctors and the rights of patients. As a doctor here in Mexico, it’s illegal to take a picture of a patient without their prior consent, even if it’s for medical purposes. But a patient can take a photo of a doctor with the sole purpose of damaging our reputation,” he told the BBC. With his tweet, he inadvertently sparked a social media movement. Soon after, doctors from across the world started posting pictures of themselves caught napping during some of their most draining shifts. Thousands of social media users also threw their support behind the doctors.
#YoTambiénMeDormí @Ceciimancilla @PauletteMicesan @cesarivandiazg pic.twitter.com/Wyi1dxqDdN — Cesar E. Reyes F. (@CesarReyesF) June 8, 2015
#YoTambienMeDormi a las 5 am pic.twitter.com/X3v6tHRskQ
— Edgard Diaz (@edgard18) June 7, 2015
انتشار صور نوم الأطباء خلال مناوباتهم على الشبكات الاجتماعية http://t.co/1qWfGN37M8 #YoTambienMeDormi أنا أيضا أنام pic.twitter.com/f1gDzfdCQm — أحمد Ahmed (@blafrancia) June 3, 2015
#YoTambienMeDormi en el HGZ8 a las 5 am pic.twitter.com/3SsDx0YnLC
— Edgard Diaz (@edgard18) June 3, 2015
#yotambienmedormi porque a todos nos pasa somos humanos pic.twitter.com/d4BKsXA5qR — A®tur Castaldi (@maquiaveloslp) June 1, 2015
#YoTambienMeDormi pic.twitter.com/IeZoV9uto3
— Russian Doctor (@urolog46) May 24, 2015
Because it’s more natural to sleep than not. #YoTambienMeDormi #doctor #trauma pic.twitter.com/KvWG7Avn82 — Dr_Leo (@leoneldecaires) May 23, 2015
@Medimagazin Türkiye’ deki hekimler de bu harekete destek veriyor. #BendeUyuyaKaldım #YoTambienMeDormi pic.twitter.com/o63SQCxnPb
— Hipokrat Yeminli Dr. (@drfatihbati) May 22, 2015
PS: We are human beings. #YoTambienMeDormi pic.twitter.com/IshPgwLA5G — عبدالله (@Q8i_Outsider) May 22, 2015
Because doctors are humans too. #YoTambienMeDormi pic.twitter.com/QU0sF6oQqp
— Charlene May (@charlenetingzon) May 20, 2015
#LoMásLeído en Salud: Con #Yotambienmedormí rechazan críticas a colega por quedarse dormida. http://t.co/j0kJXYfC2t pic.twitter.com/VDI3qZ1CO4 — El Espectador (@elespectador) May 17, 2015
#YoTambienMeDormi 36 horas seguidas de trabajo sin parar son imposibles sin 10 minutos de descanzo pic.twitter.com/kN3dRlSCyZ
— Paola Perez (@pao_perezf) May 16, 2015
After 10 hours surgery during fasting.. #YoTambienMeDormi pic.twitter.com/KMWn5Jk8jK — wisal nisar (@wisalnisar) May 16, 2015
#yotambienmedormi #Argentina Verguenza en las condiciones que trabajamos medicos residentes de todo el mundo pic.twitter.com/BEeXDyDirI
— MechiFiu (@MechiFiu) May 9, 2015
#yotambienmedormi después de una jornada de guardia de 24h estudiantes de medicina pic.twitter.com/BCpnPl8kvb — Nina♔ (@3ndreina) May 9, 2015
