President's Message

Monique Schaulis, MD, MPH, FAAHPM

"As thousands of people file through, I feel proud walking under the giant boards that give instructions in many languages. I have had the privilege of experiencing the joy of first vaccines many times over. We crossed over 300,000 total shots in arms."

Each time I sit down to reflect and write the President's message, I am astonished at how much has transpired since the last column. The furious pace of change is ongoing in 2021.

Last week, our ICU was without Covid patients for the first time in recent memory. My critical care colleagues have exhaled just a little bit. The ED feels more relaxed in tenor. Our children are heading back to school! San Francisco feels closer to normal.

Working at the Moscone mass vaccine site, I have a new perspective on what can be accomplished when leaders have the will to take action. As thousands of people file through, I feel proud walking under the giant boards that give instructions in many languages. I have had the privilege of experiencing the joy of first vaccines many times over. On my last shift, we crossed over 300,000 total shots in arms.

I capture in my heart the stories that people share with me at Moscone. Collective vulnerability allows for profound conversations between strangers. The mother of a UCLA Emergency Medicine resident told me her story just after the LA surge subsided. She knew the trauma that her daughter was experiencing as a young doctor and literally ached to embrace her—not being able to do so was excruciating. The vaccine would provide her with the freedom to mother again. We both cried as she shared the power of that moment of liberation. A very elderly couple told me that they were so happy to finally get their injections. I wondered aloud why it had taken them so long to get in? They shared that they had been trapped in their apartment building for the last eight weeks, unable to get out due to a broken elevator. Their more able neighbors had been bringing them food and supplies for the duration. These moments of optimism, beauty and relief are tempered, however, by the pain of so many horrific incidents of racially motivated violence. Our collective nerves are frayed from the Derek Chauvin trial and from watching the senseless acts of brutality against the AAPI community. Despite the fatigue of the pandemic, we cannot rest; we must continue to press forward together to address gun violence, racism and inequities. Let’s take the energy and leadership we’ve marshalled against Covid and apply it to these other pressing problems. As John Lewis noted, “Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society.”

– Monique

Dr. Monique Schaulis, MD, MPH, FAAHPM, is a graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She practices Emergency and Palliative Medicine with The Permanente Medical Group in San Francisco. She is President of SFMMS and serves as faculty for Vital Talk, a non-profit that teaches communication skills for serious illness. Dr. Schaulis chairs the Medical Aid in Dying special interest group for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.