In November 2020, roughly 10 months after the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the U.S., I conducted an oral history interview with "A," a fifth-year resident physician working at an Arizona hospital. (Like many other healthcare workers who are speaking out, she has requested to remain anonymous in order to openly discuss her experiences working during the COVID pandemic without fear of reprisal.) As a young healthcare worker just beginning her career when the pandemic hit, A described the uncertainty, fear, and apprehension that characterized her work on the front lines. However, she also highlighted the solidarity and resourcefulness that emerged from the medical community during this time, and expressed hope that the collective lessons learned from COVID would serve as a catalyst for comprehensive, lasting change within the healthcare system.

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Perhaps most significantly, A's story revealed how the oversimplified "hero narrative," projected onto healthcare workers during the pandemic, has simultaneously obscured systemic failures within medicine and placed an undue burden upon its workers. Although it is a well-meaning sentiment derived from genuine gratitude, this rhetoric has erased healthcare workers' difficult lived experiences and instead propagated an erroneous belief that they possess a superhuman level of emotional and physical endurance. As such, medical professionals have been expected to confront the COVID pandemic head-on with little to no support from the public, the healthcare system, or the government. This has taken an enormous toll on their well-being, and almost a year into the pandemic, they are continuing to struggle. Given today's dire circumstances, I argue that the time has come for society to collectively reject the hero narrative and embrace a more nuanced perspective of healthcare work in its stead. We must acknowledge the incredible physical and emotional demands of healthcare workers' jobs, listen to the concerns they raise, and actively work to rectify these problems, rather than allowing them to fade back into oblivion after the worst of the virus is over.