Scholar Caitríona L. Cox defines "heroism" as involving "voluntary engagement with an acknowledged degree of personal risk to help others." She argues that there is also a "supererogatory" element to heroic actions: they are "morally excellent" and "go beyond the duty of the agent." During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is therefore unsurprising that the public would be inclined to laud medical professionals as "healthcare heroes" for their work treating patients. However, the hero narrative—perpetuated through community-wide actions like the 7 PM clap for healthcare workers in New York City, advertisements such as the one shown above, news media coverage, and the like—(re)produces a common misconception that healthcare workers are indefatigable and are prepared to do whatever it takes to save lives, even if that means sacrificing their own health and safety.

 

This rhetoric, while moving, prevents us from recognizing the limitations of care as well as the "reciprocal social obligations" we, as the public, have to our healthcare workers during COVID. Cox substantiates this argument by first identifying two key responsibilities inherent to healthcare work: the "duty of care," which she explains is the moral duty that defines a doctor-patient relationship; and the "duty to treat," even if some personal risk is involved, which stems from the social contract between "the medical profession and the community at large." She argues that although these duties are finite, labeling healthcare workers as heroes creates the impression that there is no limit to what they can and will do for their patients, making the duty of care and duty to treat seem boundless. However, it is unfair to expect healthcare workers to martyrize themselves, even during crises such as COVID. Herein lies the true danger of the hero narrative: its glorification of self-sacrifice allows people to disregard medical professionals' individual boundaries as to how much personal risk they are willing to accept during the course of their work, and detracts focus from the tangible support that communities should be providing to their healthcare workers during this time.