D epartment
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M edicine
Con ne c ti ng T e c h n o lo g y , Ed uca t i o n a n d D i s cove ry w ith H um anis m in Me dicine
Vol. 9 Issue 4 Oct. 2020
Resident Perspective on the COVID-19 Pandemic
Working as a resident during the coronavirus pandemic is a challenging and unique experience. The excitement of being on the front line is met every day by the stress of taking care of people who are critically ill with a novel virus, our knowledge of which is constantly evolving. The task of having to tell family members that their loved one, whom they cannot visit, is not doing well is sometimes mitigated by the relief of telling a family that their loved one’s condition has improved. This time has also allowed many of us to reaffirm the reason why we decided to pursue an occupation in medicine: to make a difference. Much of the stress we as residents experience on a day-to-day basis when caring for a patient with COVID-19, is the vast unknown. We may have thoughts such as whether we will be properly protected by the PPE we wear or whether we may expose our own family or household members when we return home. We don’t know whether
Points of View Social Determinants of Health
Rajiv Dhand, MD, Chair
My medical training appears so inadequate now. In medical school, I learned the structure and functions of the human body, the complex enzymatic reactions and genes that control our bodies’ systems and provide energy to fuel their activities. I learned about the derangements that occur in disease and the various cellular functions and genes that are affected in causing illness. I felt
patients diagnosed with COVID-19 will end up in critical condition on the ventilator. We also don’t know which treatments are best for these individuals, but we are always doing what is best to help them by reading up on the new developments regarding COVID-19. After discussions with many Internal Medicine residents here at UT, these past few months can best be described as an emotional rollercoaster. Despite this difficult season, we try to reflect and focus on the encouraging things that have come out of this. We remain determined to push through and do the absolute best we can, and we take pride in our comradery as a residency program. We stand united as we journey on through this pandemic together. And lastly, in the words of third-year Internal Medicine resident Sam Walker, “We remain hopeful for the patients we are caring for and for the world as a whole.”
very well equipped and confident knowing the various treatments (medical and surgical) for all these maladies. Imagine my excitement when this knowledge helped my patients to recover from their illnesses back to a state of health. My clinical practice was rooted in the firm belief, that there could be no more rewarding experience than service to my patients. Then the coronavirus swarmed all over the world in a pandemic unlike any other in the past 100 years. This faceless, voiceless, and yet merciless enemy has brought us to our knees. It strikes at will, claiming victims in a variety of geographic areas at random. Despite all our scientific and technological advancements, we are helpless and feel inept against the relentless march of the coronavirus. Even worse, this pandemic has exposed the continued on page 2 1