Overwhelming PPE

Completely new routines for doctors and medical practitioners!

As a doctor, there were two drastic sentiments that I experienced in the amidst of this pandemic. Initially, entering the hospital at the onset of the pandemic felt as entering a war. Even with the weapons or in this case, the personal protective equipment, one could never feel secure enough. The biggest fear was bringing it home to family. Double masking, face shield, shoe covers, gowns, and head cover became part of the daily routine. However, wearing the N95s with a surgical mask throughout the day (at times, over 15 years) became overwhelming. The reason was the fear of contracting the virus by removing mask to take a bite of your meal or sip of your water overcame the need to feed and hydrate oneself.

There were times where I just did not feel as functional because I was basically starving myself so that I did not have to take my mask off. Now, looking at the way this pandemic as played out, I feel safer in the hospital than outside. At least in the hospital, we know everyone is compliant with wearing masks, the CoVID patients are isolated, and we cån protect ourselves with the PPE. The same cannot be said about the world outside of the hospital because if it, too, were as compliant, maybe we would not have reached this point.

Stay safe, get vaccinated!

Writer : Resident Doctor

Location : New Jersey, USA

Published : Jan 25th, 2021