Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

A COVID-19 physician pep talk

Sujani G. Surakanti, MD
Conditions
March 16, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

All hands on deck! No one sits this one out. We are all MD/DOs. We all took the same oath, and in unison. Year after year, we graduate as our parents and grandparents shed tears of joy. In those years of sleep-depriving, relationship-straining, self-confidence-trying medical school and residency: We dissected everything.  The human body, the human heart (the non-anatomical one), and even what it means to follow that damn oath. We didn’t sign out an active patient. We tucked our patients in. We had each other’s back.

We were given our education, partly at this country’s expense. (The student debt doesn’t feel like that, I know.) Our residencies were partly funded by federal dollars.  And now, we are being called. Actually begged quietly, and soon in unison. Our education is a skill and a gift. Neither can be wasted or not tapped into now.

Once a physician, always a physician. You can’t retire that. We know what others don’t. Believe me, we do. Even if it’s dusty, covered in cobwebs. It’s there. My classmates, my surgeons (with their canceled elective surgeries), my subspecialists (who never or rarely, if ever, have an inpatient consult), my non-clinical industry colleagues: Join us! Bring yourself back there with me. Let’s get back to that third-year medical student feeling where we were literally dropped in and managed every time to swim. The nurses will not yell at us this time! They will stand with us. You can do it. We can do it together.

We’re like the volunteer firefighters who go to the fire while telling everyone else to evacuate. And they do that because they are there together. So we can do the same. We must. We cannot abandon each other. We are physicians first, specialists second. My social circle is filled with all you brilliant people with big hearts and sick humor. I see you! Get ready. We’re going back to the days of see one, do one, teach one. You teach me, I teach you.  We must demand that Good Samaritan laws kick in and licensure restrictions, non-compete clauses be waived.

But either way.  It’s time.  Dig down, remember that personal statement you wrote for medical school applications. It’s all still true. You are that person. Not as naive about what it takes or how much it has burned you out. But that person who cares deeply is still there. You can do this. Remember, we were trained four years in everything, or at least enough of everything to be helpful. To know when someone is sick. Every physician can triage. Those clinical pearls will come back. Let’s do the scut together. Let’s write those H&Ps, progress notes, enter those orders. It will be OK; we can put our hands up and call for help. But our hands will be there.  Ready to pick up anything.  A pager, a central line kit, or a coffee. Our hands will all be on deck.

Sujani G. Surakanti is a hematology-oncology physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Side gigs medical residents can consider

March 16, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

A psychiatrist's mental health advice during a pandemic

March 16, 2020 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Side gigs medical residents can consider
Next Post >
A psychiatrist's mental health advice during a pandemic

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Let’s talk residency: COVID edition

    Angela Awad and Catherine Tawfik
  • State sanctioned executions in the age of COVID-19

    Kasey Johnson, DO
  • A patient’s COVID-19 reflections

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Starting medical school in the midst of COVID-19

    Horacio Romero Castillo

More in Conditions

  • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

    Kara Wada, MD
  • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

    Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH
  • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

    Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD
  • How one unforgettable ER patient taught a nurse about resilience

    Kristen Cline, BSN, RN
  • Why regular exercise is the best prescription for lifelong health

    George F. Smith, MD
  • When the weight won’t budge: the hidden physiology of grief, stress, and set point

    Sarah White, APRN
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why specialist pain clinics and addiction treatment services require strong primary care

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • Harassment and overreach are driving physicians to quit

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Physician
    • Why peer support can save lives in high-pressure medical careers

      Maire Daugharty, MD | Conditions
    • When a medical office sublease turns into a legal nightmare

      Ralph Messo, DO | Physician
    • Addressing menstrual health inequities in adolescents

      Callia Georgoulis | Conditions
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Who gets to be well in America: Immigrant health is on the line

      Joshua Vasquez, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • The shocking risk every smart student faces when applying to medical school

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Clinical ghosts and why they haunt our exam rooms

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • High blood pressure’s hidden impact on kidney health in older adults

      Edmond Kubi Appiah, MPH | Conditions
    • Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for depression [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How declining MMR vaccination rates put future generations at risk

      Ambika Sharma, Onyi Oligbo, and Katrina Green, MD | Conditions
    • The physician who turned burnout into a mission for change

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

A COVID-19 physician pep talk
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...