Global Black Student Healthcare Worker
Taking this course has been an incredibly unique experience so far. I’m starting to see so many intersections within my identity that are heavily related to the concept of Globalization. Each of the words I have chosen in this title are currently being impacted by one common theme: the Global Pandemic of Covid-19. Now, as a black student healthcare worker I know the interconnectedness of these identities was being felt on a global sense even prior to the pandemic but the difference is; the rest of the world is starting to see it too.
My race matters to me, it’s what I live every day. Being black is something I love deeply even though the rest of the world may not feel the same way. The death of George Floyd caused a global shift on the #BlackLivesMatter movement. People across the world starting paying attention to the Anti Black Racism I’ve been experiencing my entire life. Globalization tells us that George Floyd’s death cause the world to feel a glimpse of the black experience with police brutality. Needless to say the most influential part in all of this was the technology that allowed the video of Mr. Floyd’s death to be accessible globally through a plethora of platforms on the internet. The frustrating part remains that this has been going on for centuries and the question I’ve been urging many so called “allies” to think about is, “How many tragedies involving anti black racism and police brutality are not captured on film?” Nonetheless, through globalization we are able to humanize the black experience and raise more awareness to the constant issue of anti black racism around the world.
Covid-19 is a prime example of how globalization has revolutionized education. Most schools across the world, including McMaster, have gone almost completely virtual. By this new way of learning, students and educators are navigating online platforms with little support. Globalization allows us to see the many disparities related to the accessibility of education not just in Ontario but across the world. From the primary grades to post secondary & post graduate education, students continue to struggle through the reality of self teaching, harsh deadlines, and minimal support on a global scale. Once again, through the interconnectedness of technology, we are able to see that education can be made accessible online but only for those with access to internet and devices that use internet. We see a divide in that there are many students who are now forced to take time off school as a result of not having the adequate equipment necessary to keep up with the rest of their colleagues. Educators are frantically condensing, changing, and synthesizing all the material they would normally deliver in a classroom/lecture environment via an online platform. The global pandemic brings attention not just to the gaps in education, but can illuminate a better and more accessible approach to deliver content to students.
Today, I work 2 “essential” jobs. The first is as a Technical Support Agent for Rogers and the second as a Coordinator in government funded community healthcare services for a company called Spectrum Healthcare. As a coordinator my responsibility is to schedule in home visits for both Nurses and Personal Support Workers (PSWs). Covid-19 stirred up some very big conversations in healthcare globally and as someone who is interested in pursuing a career in global healthcare, I can see that Globalization has shown us that as a global society we value capitalism more than public & global health. Many companies and employers (mine included) are not providing all their workers with safe & healthy working conditions. Most workers (whether essential or not) have either been laid off or are working an incredible amount of hours to adjust for the disfunction Covid-19 has brought to the workforce. At Spectrum Healthcare specifically, we are now faced with the ethical question of whether we should be send PSWs and nurses into clients’ homes to provide care even with full PPE. As Coordinators, we are still coming into the office on a daily basis and dealing with hundreds of PSWs and nurses coming to pick up their PPE to service their clients while protecting themselves. On a global scale, healthcare workers around the world are expected to put their lives at risk daily and still service patients. Some of these workers have contracted the virus themselves and as a result are home sick and not being paid. These shared global experiences in healthcare have taught us so much about the essential reform that needs to take place within businesses and organizations that place their “bottom line” above their workers needs.
Needless to say, Globalization just shows me more everyday how we need to fight for a better world and thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, we can finally acknowledge many of these gaps that have existed for years as a global community and work toward a better world.