Apocalypse genre is one of my fave genre, just for the simple reason that in apocalypse setting, human's truest nature are often revealed, either their selfishness, kindness, or psychosis. Healers in the apocalypse novel are often rare and I just realized that this may have a reason. Most of the novels with power awakening in the plot, their logic behind is that the "awakened power" is closely related to the character of the person, and this is determined subconsciously. Healers may be rare since at the very beginning, they may have already been massacred. The hospital frontliners such as the doctors, nurses, medtech, radtech, pt/ot, pharma etc. may have higher chances of awakening healing powers, since they dedicated their life in learning healthcare but then, they are often the first victims of those zombies. Hospitals are often S to SSS danger level in novels since the patients that have symptoms of transforming to zombies before apocalypse are brought there. Following this theory, lesser health workers is equivalent to lesser percentage of people awakening healing powers. So it may be the reason why healers are rare.
Not a bad line of thinking. I'm afraid its more likely that healers are rare, because otherwise the apocalype would become a lot more manageable. With medical treatment available, defensive strategies become a lot more viable. You'd still need to hunt for food and water, but you could use far more conservative strategies against the bigger threats because your fighters just need to focus on not dying in a single hit, and retreating if too many people get injured. Without a healer, you end up taking down threats by trading lives, because you simply dont have the resources to care for the badly wounded long-term. Another reason could be that it doesnt fit in the power fantasy of surviving an apocalypse, except maybe as part of a rescue fantasy because every faction would want a healer, and the less kind ones would all but enslave them. Alternately, its because 'healing' as a power is too abstract. After all, surgeons might get cutting instead. Nurses might get strength enhancement or empathy. Doctors may get analysis or debuff abiltities, since half the time they're weakening the body to heal it.
On the other hand hospitals generally have security and/or police on hand at all times, a relatively large amount of food, and a ton of rooms that can only be opened with a passcode or badge. I imagine it's not the low level initial monsters that take them out. It's probably large monsters lured in by the hoards of survivors trying to flooding towards them.
It's nice to hear that the hospital in your place is generally in a secured condition. In the hopitals I had my internship, yes, there are a lot of rooms but they are not opened by badge or passcode. I think those are more common in research centers or state secured rooms. Though yes, there are securities but I don't think their number is enough to stop all those newly transformed patient. In terms of food, yes there are a lot of convinience store outside, but inside, unless it is the canteen or the sleeping and pxn quarters, there is actually a rule that food is not allowed, for example in the lab. So it is more practical to harvest goods outside than risking your life going inside, unless you need the equipment and stuff there. But that is in our place.
What about equipment storerooms or rooms where they keep medications? Also what about to get into and out of the ER?
Normal lock and key will do for locking those meds and equipment. ER is always open so you can get in and out of it.
Depending on the type of apocalypse, healers may not fare any worse than others. If it's because of an infection with a sufficiently long period of incubation (nough to be placed in a hospital room), then the hospitals will be the worse place to be when it start. If it's something sudden (or really fast), then they have as many chances as everyone else. On top of that, there is security personel in hospitals. Doctors may not only develop healing abilities, they may very well develop enhancing or cursing abilities as well, from working on rehabilitation or things that temporary improve the body, or working on illnesses and poisoning.