Published by: John David ViΓ±as
Date Published: September 22, 2024
Time Published: 11:44AM
“Your humility will make even the smallest difference in the lives of your patients—and that is your strength,” Those are the words that were uttered by a nursing student slash Tiktok influencer, Juilliana Villafuerte on the mini vlog she uploaded, aiming to tell a lesson but instead, it only made a huge backlash against her--contrary to what she expected.
You may wonder, why? Why would she get negative reactions when all she’s wanted was to tell a beautiful story of how the humility of the medical staff affects greatly to those that they take care of? Why did everything turn upside down and made her face huge criticisms in the first place?
Well, the reason why the public was upset is because of the fact that a certain clip in her mini vlog was uploaded in her Youtube and Tiktok accounts wherein one of her patients was shown flatlining, a step closer to death.
The Florence Nightingale turned Flatline Queen
Juilliana Villafuerte, a social media content creator known for her lifestyle vlogs, showing her passion for makeups, fashioned clothes and mostly, her life as a nursing student which garnered attention all over social media platforms.
Many people loved her contents, making her a role model for many aspiring nursing students, wishing to be in her shoes. She also became the Florence Nightingale of her university which means that she left a positive and exceptional impact on the people and the university, a paragon of a strong, caring woman. Who knew that one video will change the trajectory of her life?
Around the start of the month of August, some of her newly uploaded vlogs both on her Tiktok and Youtube accounts caught the attention of the online netizens as the vlogs showed patients that were flatlining, turning it into a lesson and emphasizing how life is so short.
Moments later the clip of her patient flatlining and her crying after, was another part of her video wherein she’s unboxing a few boxes that she received. [1]
This was the start of the downfall of the renowned “Florence Nightingale” turned to the now known as the “Flatline Queen”.
The Light of Fame
This is not new in the content creating world. Things always go down once you get blinded by the light of fame. Villafuerte, too, did not escape this light as she became too engrossed with her vlogs that soon will be the cause of her downfall.
To tell the story, before all of these, Juilliana Villafuerte did not expect much about the videos she was uploading when she was starting. A few likes and a few shares were all it takes to make someone happy. It was not until she gained more and more followers, frequently as time goes by.
With this, she became more active in uploading videos that circles around student nursing vlogs, fashion, and unboxing haul. She even gets some collaborations and sponsorships from various brands.
She obtained something that made her feel more confident and comfortable with what she's sharing online, even painting an ideal picture of how she's living. Too comfortable to fame to even notice that she's crossing the line and boundaries of what's supposed to be the privacy of people, especially her patients.
The Addicting Side Effects of the Drug of Fame
We all experience the joy of having a few likers and followers on our social media accounts. The feeling of being recognized by many people must’ve been too exhilarating to refuse. This is the way that we can relate to other people; That we are not alone. But sometimes, we felt too comfortable to the point that we post even the smallest thing and even the things that are not supposed to be shared online, something that Villafuerte failed to recognize.
With that, many people criticized her as it is very unethical to film a person who’s already at death's door, even following it with an unboxing haul. They deemed it to be so disrespectful to the life of a person, which is considered as the most sacred blessing that God can give, making it a social media content for likes and shares.
After realizing how serious the backlash is, Villafuerte eventually posted an apology through her Instagram account admitting her mistakes and insensitivity. [2]
This apology will never tend the wound of frustration of the netizens within the community.
The Failed Medical Etiquette
The Philippines had established its firm stand on the healthcare industry. It is known as the world’s major supplier of nurses globally. As of 2020, there are 240,000 Filipino nurses that are working all around the globe. [2] It disappointed many people with how one of the people in this said industry failed to follow basic medical etiquette and basic human decency.
According to the National Privacy Commission (NPC), the video did not include the identification of the patient, so it did not fall under the scope of the Data Privacy Act (DPA); however, they are acknowledging the potential risks to the patient’s rights and freedom. [3]
“We emphasize that sharing images or videos from these settings can raise serious ethical concerns and may undermine the trust between patients and healthcare providers. Ethical considerations are critical in maintaining the integrity of healthcare practices and protecting the dignity of patients,” it added. [3]
Even with no laws violated, etiquette was disregarded. Especially for a nurse who’s supposed to save and respect lives, it is basically an air that’s supposed to be breathed and water that’s supposed to be drunk.
As the public was informed by this incident, this became the actual lesson; to respect someone’s privacy no matter the situation. From the day of birth until the machine goes flatline, where exactly do you draw the line?
REFERENCES:
[1] Agbulos, G. (2024, August 5) Vlogger receives flak for including flatlining patient in video: Where do we draw the line? RepublicAsia. https://republicasiamedia.com/.../vlogger-receives-flak.../
2] Tackling the ‘nursing exodus’ in the Philippines. (2024, March 28) Hospital Management Asia. https://www.hospitalmanagementasia.com/talent-skills/tackling-the-nursing-exodus-in-the-philippines/
[3] Malasig, J. (2024, August 19). Ethical concerns: NPC flags viral “flatline” video taken by nursing student. Interaksyon. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/trends-spotlights/2024/08/19/281790/npc-viral-flatline-video-nursing-student/[
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