ICU doctors’ wellbeing during pandemic
Even though each professional had to adapt to their new way of life, doctors had to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic in an unprecedented manner. Response to the pandemic has been a challenge of huge magnitude that physicians have not faced perhaps in a lifetime. With wave after wave of Covid-19 hitting the globe, the pandemic appears like a marathon rather than a 100m sprint.
Pandemic's potential impact can be profound and long-lasting, especially given the triggers seen by ICU physicians daily. Witnessing suffering is not an alien concept to those working in the ICU, but the speed and scale of Covid-19 led to a constant sense of flux which created anxiety, exhaustion and inevitable burnouts.
Also, unrelenting fatigue, mental trauma and social stigma could result in a drop in performance. Junior doctors taking up more responsibilities due to the large number of doctors getting infected received less preparation and supervision than usual. Their uncertainty created helplessness and hopelessness as the scaffolding of knowledge, competence and routine fell apart.
There were not just heroic endeavours of the lives saved, but the darker sides of work as well. Doctors contacting patients' families by phone to break the bad news about their loved ones having hours to live also have to witness gasping breaths while the patients succumb. While comforting the bereaved, they had to rush to provide services at the peak of infection. Bearing cumulative grief for the collective losses, they too need time to mourn.
Some coping-up strategies could yield better performance and reduce the incidence of burnouts among ICU physicians:
* Accepting all emotions of grief (shock, anger, bargaining and sadness).
* Self-care and caring for each other to mitigate emotional turmoil.
* Changing "patient first always" to "patient always, but safety first".
* Building resilient behaviour through experience sharing from a past stressful event.
* Engaging in mindfulness or exercise.
* Fostering positive thoughts to establish positive emotions.
* Being kind to each colleague in the ICU team.
The writer is a Specialist, General ICU, United Hospital Limited.
Comments