Fears and Frustrations in the Healthcare Community

What your doctor is reading on Medscape.com:

APRIL 07, 2020 — The healthcare field is filled with many bright, compassionate souls.

But that fact is sometimes taken for granted, especially in times like these, when the same souls find themselves on the “front lines” of a war that not everyone realized they had signed up for.

I feel strongly that it’s important to get our message out by using more visuals that capture and communicate the risks we take. Sharing more messages and stories not only tells others about the sacrifices necessary to become healthcare professionals but also shows the toll of practicing in it.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve found myself personally moved by images and stories shared behind the scenes. As I continue connecting with physicians from across the nation about issues we need to address (both pre- and post-COVID issues), I feel passionate about uniquely showcasing our voice.

This, in my opinion, is where social media comes in. As a healthcare profession, we need to connect and work together. We then need to get the right messages out because a global fight like this needs unified, strategic dissemination of proper instructions and accurate information.

Six months ago, I laid my clinical white coat to rest and decided to devote my time to building a unique community for physicians to connect and network with other physicians on social media. I decided to try my hand at solutions. I am currently configuring my own group, called SoMeDocs, so that physicians can connect, discuss what’s broken, and speak freely in organized ways, and know that there are many others who are valiantly doing the same.

To help communicate our message, I have pieced together a collection of 10 of our frontline heroes, each one grappling with his or her own current fears and frustrations. I feel honored to feature them here through my digital composition and through their own words of truth.

For each one of the heroes featured, I know there are many more. I wish each one of you out there—the warriors in the real-world battleground of this war on COVID-19—only good health.   

“My chief concerns are twofold: working to optimize COVID-19 readiness in my region and the safety of my colleagues in cities that are impacted. There is a deep sense of aspiration in doing this work which helps to offset the worry. I have unending confidence in all parts of the healthcare team to handle this pandemic, provided we have the necessary tools to do the work.”

Mark Shapiro, MD
Hospitalist and associate medical director for hospital services
Santa Rosa, California   

“Fear of the unknown is certainly palpable throughout the ORs, the hospital corridors, all the way down to the cafeteria. But there are nurses and doctors alike with smiles on their faces because they know we will get through this. I am mostly concerned about my grandmother and my parents. I am also saddened by the family members who cannot visit with loved ones in the hospital because of desires to decrease the risk of COVID-19. It’s a tough time, but the fact that people can continue to smile reminds me that this too shall pass.”

Jason L. Campbell, MD
Resident, department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine
Portland, Oregon   

“I take pride in being very good at making people look and feel beautiful, which I believe also has a correlation with them feeling healthy. Being in the midst of a pandemic and realizing my life’s work is redundant at this stage is very unsettling. I’m fearful for and dare I say ‘jealous’ of my colleagues who are on the frontlines saving lives. Am I simultaneously also thankful that I don’t have to expose myself to the risk of contracting COVID-19 because of lack of personal protective equipment? My mind oscillates between these two thoughts several times a day. Last week when my hospital sent a request for doctors who would volunteer, I quickly created an inventory list of all my critical care skills from my 8 years of surgical training and sent it in, and now I’m on the sidelines waiting to be ‘drafted.'”

Shwetambara Parakh, MD
Plastic and reconstructive surgeon
Englewood, New Jersey

“My fear is for the future health of healthcare. The scars of today — the fear, the uncertainty, the separations from family, the amount of death to come — won’t be gone tomorrow. For those of us on the frontlines, our souls will always bear witness to all that was lost: our patients, our colleagues, and our faith in a system that was supposed to be ready to protect us.”

Jamie Coleman, MD
Trauma surgeon
Denver, Colorado   

“Obviously my biggest fear is that doing something I love — being a caregiver— may result in my death. I feel I’m working in air that actually has weight and substance— like I have to tread water as I move to each room and each patient. I want to grow old with my wife. I want to go fishing. I deserve that.”

Louis Profeta, MD
Emergency medicine physician
Indianapolis, Indiana   

“My fear is that all of my patients are at risk. They all have the underlying comorbidities that put them at risk. So it’s difficult to tell them we will operate to fix their heart conditions knowing that admitting them to the hospital puts them at a great risk.”

Amy Meeks, PA-C
Cardiothoracic surgery physician assistant
Omaha, Nebraska   

“My fear is a bimodal peak of deaths related to this pandemic vis-à-vis the oncology population: the imminent loss of life of the immunosuppressed to the virus and the latent loss of patients to malignancies that are now being under treated or untreated.”

Mark Lewis, MD
Gastrointestinal oncologist
Salt Lake City, Utah   

“COVID-19 is impacting everyone in the United States, with a new survey from the American Psychiatric Association showing that more than one third say it has a serious impact on their mental health. Many mental health services have been suspended or converted to telehealth, and there is a disproportionate number of individuals with severe and persistent mental health [issues] who are homeless or lack consistent telehealth capabilities at home. …This pandemic is showing us that all mental health facilities need integrated care, and we need to ensure that there are robust safety net services for our most vulnerable patients. We must not forget that saving lives also means paying attention to mental health. We must transition from scattered volunteer efforts to a coordinated system of care in all communities.”

Howard Liu, MD
Psychiatrist and chair of psychiatry
Omaha, Nebraska   

“My fear and frustrations are that we are continuously working in a reactive manner. And I’m scared that by the time that we learn our lesson, after too many fatalities, only then will we know that being proactive and protecting ourselves would have served us better.”

Hala Sabry-Elnaggar, DO
Emergency medicine physician
Los Angeles, California

“This pandemic has caused so much fear and anxiety in our healthcare community due to the lack of support and resources. We are being asked to reuse surgical masks and limit all personal protective equipment to those infected or suspected to be infected, and we are forced to work in conditions that put us at risk. My ultimate fear is that our current physicians, nurses, therapists, and assistants will become infected themselves and unable to provide the care our patients require. If we don’t take care of the ‘essential’ members of this community, who will be left to treat the remainder of those in dire need?”

Briana Moore, BSN, RN, PHN
Nurse and case manager
Orange County, California