Sónia Martins
38 years old · Setúbal
Nurse at Hospital de São Bernardo (SNS)
Persona: Public Healthcare Worker
Sónia Martins
Quick Profile
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Sónia Martins |
| Age | 38 |
| Gender | Female |
| Location | Setúbal |
| Occupation | Nurse at Hospital de São Bernardo (SNS) |
| Education | Nursing degree + Specialty in Emergency Care |
| Housing | Owns apartment with mortgage (bought 2018) |
| Family | Divorced, one son (10), shares custody |
| Voter Status | Portuguese citizen - can vote |
Background Narrative
Sónia became a nurse because she wanted to help people. Fifteen years later, she's exhausted, underpaid, and watching colleagues leave for Germany, UK, and Switzerland every month. She stays because her son is here, her mother is here, and someone has to hold the SNS together.
Her shifts are brutal—12 hours on, sometimes 14 when someone doesn't show up (which is often). The emergency department is chronically understaffed. She's made do with broken equipment, insufficient supplies, and impossible patient ratios. Every week, there's a story of someone waiting 20 hours to be seen, and she feels personally responsible even though she's just one person.
Her salary is €1,350/month after 15 years. A newly graduated nurse in Germany starts at €3,000+. The math is cruel. But emigration would mean leaving her son, whose father is in Setúbal. So she stays, advocates for better conditions through her union, and watches the system crumble from inside.
She's not angry at patients, not angry at immigrants, not angry at anyone except the politicians who let this happen. Fifteen years of promised reforms, and things only got worse.
Economic Situation
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Income level | Lower-middle (€1,350/month net) |
| Income source | Public sector salary (SNS) |
| Financial stress | High |
| Housing cost burden | 38% (mortgage + single income periods) |
| Economic trajectory | Stagnant despite experience |
Values Profile (Schwartz Framework)
Higher-Order Values
| Dimension | Rating | Expression |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Transcendence | 5 | Chose caring profession; deeply committed to patients |
| Self-Enhancement | 2 | Not seeking status; wants recognition for profession |
| Openness to Change | 3 | Would welcome change if it helped; pragmatic |
| Conservation | 3 | Values stability but sees current system failing |
Specific Values (Top 3 priorities)
- Benevolence: Caring for others is core identity; lives it daily
- Universalism: Healthcare should be for everyone; equality matters
- Security: Needs stability for herself and son; job security valued
Moral Politics Frame (Lakoff)
Primary frame: Nurturant Parent (strong)
Expression: Sónia believes in caring for people, especially the vulnerable. She sees healthcare as a social responsibility, not a market. She's frustrated by a system that doesn't care for the carers.
Information Ecosystem
| Source Type | Specific Sources | Trust Level |
|---|---|---|
| TV | SIC, RTP (when home) | Medium |
| Online | Público, nursing professional networks, Facebook | Medium |
| Social Media | Facebook (nursing groups, friends), WhatsApp | High for professional |
| None | N/A | |
| Community | Colleagues, union, single parent networks | Very High |
Media consumption pattern: Limited time—long shifts. Gets news on phone between shifts. Professional Facebook groups for healthcare discussions. WhatsApp with colleagues for real-time updates.
Political Profile
Voting History
| Election | Vote | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Legislative | PS | "They promised SNS investment" |
| 2022 Legislative | PS | "Healthcare focus" |
| 2021 Presidential | Marcelo | "Seemed supportive of SNS" |
| Historical pattern | PS/center-left, healthcare-focused |
Political Identity
- Left-Right self-placement: 4/10 (center-left)
- Party identification: Weak PS; increasingly frustrated
- Political engagement: Moderate—votes, union participation, occasionally protests
2026 Presidential Inclination
- Current leaning: Undecided (Seguro or Gouveia e Melo)
- Certainty: Undecided
- Key deciding factors: Healthcare policy commitment, competence, not Ventura
Top Concerns (Ranked)
- SNS collapse: "I'm watching it happen. Staff leaving, patients suffering, nothing improves."
- Healthcare worker conditions: "We're burned out, underpaid, and treated as expendable."
- Son's wellbeing: "He needs me present, but my job makes that impossible sometimes."
- Economic survival: "Single parent on a nurse's salary—every month is a calculation."
- Future of profession: "Young nurses leave immediately. Who will care for us when we're old?"
Hopes
For herself:
"I want to feel proud of my job again, not just exhausted. I want to see my son grow up without always being too tired to play with him."
For Portugal:
"I hope we can rebuild the SNS before it's too late. Not privatize it, not abandon it—actually fund it, staff it, make it work."
For her profession:
"I hope nurses get the recognition we deserve. Not just clapping from balconies—actual wages, actual staffing, actual respect."
Fears
Personal fears:
"Making a mistake because I'm too tired. Losing a patient because the system failed, not me. Being blamed anyway."
Fears for Portugal:
"Healthcare becoming like America—only for those who can pay. The SNS was a promise. Breaking it breaks something in us."
Deepest fear (often unspoken):
"That I'm complicit by staying. That my dedication props up a system that should have failed by now. That my sacrifice enables their neglect."
"In Their Own Voice"
How she'd describe Portugal today:
"I see Portugal from the emergency room. The elderly who wait 20 hours because there aren't enough beds. The young people who can't find a family doctor. The colleagues who leave because they can't survive on what we pay. This is what neglect looks like. And everyone acts surprised."
What she'd say to someone who disagrees with her politically:
"Come do a shift with me. Not as a politician visiting for photos—actually work 12 hours in emergency. Then tell me we don't need to invest in healthcare."
Her message to politicians:
"Stop treating the SNS as a cost to cut. It's the thing that keeps people alive. Fund it. Staff it. Or admit you've decided to let it die and at least be honest."
Scenario Response Predictions
| Candidate | Predicted Response | Key Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Ventura | Negative | Doesn't trust his healthcare commitments; divisive |
| Gouveia e Melo | Moderately Positive | Crisis manager, might fix things; unclear on details |
| Marques Mendes | Neutral | PSD hasn't prioritized SNS either |
| Seguro | Moderately Positive | PS connection, healthcare focus rhetoric |
| Catarina Martins | Positive | Healthcare defender, but can she deliver? |
| Cotrim Figueiredo | Negative | Market approach will worsen things |
| António Filipe | Positive | Workers' rights, public services focus |
Notes for Scenario Development
- Hospital scenes as experiential futures setting
- Staff shortage and emigration visible in daily work
- Son creates personal stakes beyond profession
- Union activity for collective action storyline
- Could interact with: patients (immigrant and Portuguese), hospital administrators, emigrated former colleagues
- In "Day in the Future" vignettes: ER shift scenes, picking up son from school late, WhatsApp with colleague in Germany