Q: Can you describe your current employment?
A: I am an oncologist. I work in a clinic, and then I also go to the hospital to round there and see patients as well.
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Q: How was your workplace and medical specialty affected by COVID-19?
A: So I think my situation was a little bit unique, to be honest. I actually finished fellowship—my medical training—in July, so really the first four months or so of the pandemic, I was still in training. Also, my husband and I had a baby in March. So, a week after the shutdown, we had a baby, and so I think my experience with COVID-19 initially was very personal more than professional. And this always sounds terrible when I say it, but I think it was almost a little bit of a blessing in disguise. You know, obviously my heart goes out to everyone who was affected—my husband was an intensive care worker, so he was obviously very affected. But the first four months, because of COVID, everything was telehealth, so I could do everything from home. I lived an hour and a half from work, so I didn't have to drive in as often. I had fewer clinics because there were fewer patients that were allowed to come in to see people. And again, a lot of it was telehealth, so from my perspective, it worked out for me.
But that being said, a lot of patients either didn't seek their normal cancer screenings or they didn't attend their normal appointments, and let things go unchecked. And especially when it comes to cancer, that’s very unfortunate, because now we’re seeing a lot of patients that are coming in with very aggressive late-stage cancer. Their presentation was delayed because of COVID, because they didn’t feel comfortable seeking medical attention.
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Q: Was there a particular patient or day or week that stays with you?
A: For me, I don’t think so, because I wasn’t as directly involved with COVID-19 patients. Of course our patients were exposed to COVID and they’re immuno-suppressed, so they have a higher risk of developing COVID if they’re exposed, and they have a higher risk of developing severe symptoms. But I think, just because of my situation, I wasn’t seeing a lot of patients in general. And really, once I started getting fully back into the workforce, most patients at that point had already had it or they were taking strict precautions to avoid it. So to be honest, I didn’t have a lot of patients that I directly worked with that had COVID or were exposed to it.
Q: How were you or your family personally impacted by COVID-19? I know you had a baby, so did you create a routine that you used to de-stress or detach yourself from what you were seeing?
A: Well, it was tough. You know, my husband, he works in the ICU. So he, of course, was personally responsible for a lot of these COVID patients. We had that discussion of whether it was even safe for him to come home; we heard a lot of stories about these shift workers that work with COVID patients that were getting Airbnbs, or living in the garage and not seeing their families. So that was a big decision for us, because initially, we didn’t really know how COVID spread and how contagious it was. So that was tough, because that was a big decision of ‘are you not going to see our newborn because of your work situation?’ And we ultimately made a decision that he’s going to be safe about it and as long as he was feeling okay, he came home and took off his scrubs and showered immediately before touching anything. We made the decision that it was okay for him to be part of the family, of course. But that was a very tough decision, and then on top of that, we had a newborn and it was our first child; it’s always good to have moms around, and neither of our moms wanted to see us because they were older and had medical conditions and were afraid of being exposed, which I completely understand. So, it was personally a very tough time for the both of us. We felt very isolated—not only did we have this newborn, but because of COVID, we didn’t have any family around.
Q: How have things progressed in the last few months? Are you receiving fewer patients with COVID-19?
A: I think so, yeah. I mean, in the clinic, things are starting to open up. Initially, there were very strict guidelines. Patients had to come in by themselves; they couldn’t have any visitors whatsoever. So things have definitely loosened up a bit. And of course, we’re seeing fewer numbers, which is great. But that being said, it seems like even yesterday, I had a patient I was supposed to see in clinic, and he called and he said that he’d been exposed to his brother, who has COVID, so he couldn’t come see us. I think that even though we’re getting back to a sense of normalcy, I think that we have to remain cautious and still do our due diligence about being mindful that COVID is still out there and can affect people.
Q: What are your hopes for a post-pandemic world?
A: Oh, that’s a tough question. I think, by nature, humankind tends to be very selfish, which is unfortunate to say but I think it’s a very true statement. I think a lot of good that came out of COVID was that people looked out for others, but there’s still a segment of the population—the ones that are unwilling to wear a mask because they don’t believe in it, unwilling to get vaccinated because they don’t believe in it—and I would hope that people like that would be more mindful of the people surrounding them.
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Q: Is there anything you want future generations or future doctors to know about handling another pandemic?
A: I mean, I think the physicians and nurses and the whole healthcare system did an excellent job with this pandemic. You know, they were truly the heroes, the front-line workers—the ER doctors, the ICU doctors, the nurses out there. What should they know, though? I think they just have to remember that at the end of the day, they still have a life and they still have a family, and they have to try to balance both. A lot of these healthcare workers, they had to sacrifice their families for a good portion of time, and that’s really unfortunate. So as long as there’s enough information and enough protective equipment, hopefully they won’t have to do that in the future.
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Q: Are you planning to continue with your field?
A: Yes.