The hospital is having to adapt daily. It started with sections of ICUs, then two whole ICUs, now.... they're all COVID ICUs, and any non-COVID ICU patient is over in the ACP. And, that's just the ICUs, non-ICU COVID units have taken over entire floors.
They called in the reserves. There were two COVID teams of medicine residents, pulmonary fellows and Attendings. Then a third calling in the GI fellows for assistance. Then a fourth calling in the Cardiac fellows. Yesterday they called for a fifth team. We are that fifth team, made up of Surgical Critical Care Attendings and surgery residents. I am finishing out my week currently on Cardiac surgery and my general surgery call; will then transition to the COVID unit next week.
I'm trying to read everything on COVID as soon as it comes out. My resources primarily New England Journal of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital COVID-19 Critical Care Clinical Guidelines. I have the rest of this week to learn from others; what has worked vs. what hasn't. How the lungs respond to more PEEP vs less PEEP, and on it goes. I'm not so far removed from medicine or critical care. It actually was an argument that I made in more than one personal statement back in the day. Medicine is baseline, everyone is a Physician first. As a surgeon I could then theoretically treat medical disease AND surgical disease. Not easily done in the opposite direction.
It's strange looking forward, in this, my current present reality. I don't see an end. Praying to hold onto hope and purpose and of course, Love. And if possible, to lend some to those around me as well.
Much Love.
P.S. still asymptomatic ;)
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