A thread. Day in The Life of a COVID ward doctor. Wake up, anxious of the unpredictability of the day. Start day, 7:30am. Survey ward, check how many new admissions, ward transfers, and deaths occurred overnight. Receive handover from overnight covering doc. Ensure PPE in check.
Start rounding. Get interuppted for more handovers of new admitted patients. Coordinate with other COVID teams as to who will become MRP (most responsible provider) for new patients as they come in. Continue rounding.
Get urgent call to see patient suddenly needing 60L of oxygen. Try to quickly but safely put on all appropriate PPE, including N95. While in room, someone yells in that patient across the hall is also desaturating. Ask nurse to call rapid response team to help.
Call ICU on patient you are currently seeing, hoping there is capacity. Try to call family of crashing patient while frantically giving orders for the other crashing patient. Receive message that ER is at capacity, can we try to get our discharges out?
Try to discharge in between crashing patients so we can empty beds for new patients coming in. Call community doctor to give handover, but get interuppted to review results of 2nd crashing patient. Lose train of thought, and forget to call community doctor. Send 1 patient to ICU.
Call family of next patient who was crashing and change goals of care to palliation and try to arrange FaceTime so they can say goodbye if time allows. Go back to trying to discharge patient. Receive call from ICU to take patient from them onto ward
So they can create capacity for their next critical patient. Have 10 minutes of repreive, and realize you still have 21 patients to see and it's already 13:00. Continue rounding, but now patient having stroke while covid+. Initiate rapid response again.
Manage this patient, and finally get to round. Update families after each patient. It is now 16:00, and I am unclear if I've even gone to the bathroom all day. Finish the day at 21:00, not having eaten. Go home, shower, decontaminate, and get ready to repeat tomorrow. #COVID19AB
