UPDATE: Nearly 1,500 people took part in our poll asking your thoughts on nurse Olivia Tyler’s TikTok post. Here are the result, with the majority of you feeling the same way:
69.3%: I don’t know what she was thinking. I think it’s in poor taste.
14.6%: I understand why she did it, but I never would.
10%: I understand why she did it. I have no problem with it.
6%: I have no opinion and need to care for my own patients.
Original story: There are so many aspects of nursing that are difficult, but none more so than losing a patient. Although it can be a sad moment, health care providers must gather their emotions and take care of their other patients.
Nurse Olivia Tyler is facing widespread criticism for doing just that. But people aren’t upset she cried or took a few minutes to get herself together. It’s that she recorded it and posted it to TikTok.
“When a person dies, their first idea is to film, edit, and publish a TikTok for comments. And exposure,” TikToker marc0p0l0o3 commented.
In the June 17 clip, Tyler could be seen pacing in the hallway as Sia’s “Unstoppable” plays. The nurse added the captions: “Lost a patient today,” and “Shake (it) off, you have 5 more hours.”
Tyler has since deleted the video — and her TikTok account — but not before it went viral and was shared by others. Although some people showed support for the challenges nurses face, most thought the post was exploitive and in poor taste.
Twitter user @ateenyalien posted part of the video with the caption: “aw man can’t believe my patient died let me go make a tictok rq.”
That post has nearly 21,000 likes and about 4.6 thousand comments.
“And don’t get me wrong, I understand raising awareness on the difficulties of being a healthcare professional but this feels like a patient was just exploited for likes and views. There are other ways to share experiences, this way was not tasteful,” @ateenyalien replied to one commenter.
TikTok user @brodywellmaker made a “duet” with Tyler’s clip. His video, which has 167,300 likes, parodies what it might have been like for anyone else in the hallway.
Nurses chimed in with comments, too. When someone asked why it’s wrong for Tyler to cry at work, registered nurse @Ray82253885 replied it’s OK to cry, just not out in the open.
Another nurse, @anccpt on Twitter, commented: “I had lots of people die on my watch in the course of the pandemic—like so much—and this sort of performative rubbish makes me so offended I can’t even clarify it.”
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