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

An unintended consequence of COVID universal masking

Dawn Baker, MD
Physician
June 10, 2020
Share
Tweet
Share

Spring 2020 has brought a disproportionate amount of grief for many of us. The losses include mortal ones, such as the death of a loved one, a colleague, or a patient. We’ve lost productivity, opportunities, and income. We’ve also lost freedoms, from the personal liberty to go where we please to our ability to spend time alone (due to quarantine in close quarters with family members). And as an anesthesiologist, another loss due to COVID-19 I’ve realized is a loss of rapport with my patients.

At my hospital and many others, a policy of universal masking is in effect. We must wear masks in the building at all times. All patients are likewise required to wear masks, either brought from home or provided to them when they arrive on site. Now, when I meet my patients in the preoperative suite to discuss their surgery and anesthetic, their face is half-covered. And so is mine.

No matter what we’re trying to say, a huge part of our communication as humans is nonverbal: body language, facial expressions, eye contact. Masks, by all definitions, significantly cover some of these elements. While eyes remain visible, the entirety of a facial expression can be lost in an interaction. Voices are muffled. The other day, a fellow doctor with perfectly good hearing said to me, “I never realized until now how much I use lip reading to understand other people.”

Imagine you’re hospitalized with COVID: febrile, short of breath, scared, and uncertain. No family members are allowed to be with you. And the only people who talk to you are doing so through a mask, or maybe a PAPR. We’ve seen and heard the stories of these patients suffering alone. Now imagine that you don’t have COVID, and you’re finally cleared to have the surgery you’ve been waiting months for. You’re lying on the cold stretcher in your hospital gown, just as scared and uncertain about how things will go. Your family isn’t allowed in the preop suite, and again the only people who talk to you are doing so through a mask. Including a health care team you’re about to trust with your life.

Despite what many might imagine, a huge part of my job as an anesthesiologist is establishing patient rapport. Yes, my interactions with patients (when not anesthetized) are much shorter than doctors of other specialties, but a trusting relationship between my patients and me is absolutely vital to their anesthetic and surgical experience. With over ten years of practice, I’ve worked hard on how I approach patients of all backgrounds getting all types of surgeries. I’ve honed my methods to relate to them in a very short period of time and explain to their satisfaction the unique plan I have in place for their anesthesia, along with their risks and benefits. At the risk of sounding glib, I feel like this is a great strength of my practice.

Until now. The masks have thrown a challenge my way. Don’t get me wrong; I recognize the importance of their use when in close contact with patients in this age of COVID. The small change I’ve incorporated to deal with this is to take advantage of the airway examination. When I ask my patients to remove their mask for my airway exam, I make sure (with appropriate distance) to first remove mine for a moment so that I can demonstrate the exam and also give them a big smile. The reciprocations warm my heart.

Have you noticed this in your own practice, regardless of specialty? How have you dealt with the communication disconnect? What else are you mourning this spring?

Dawn Baker is an anesthesiologist who blogs at Practice Balance.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

COVID-19 will set female leaders in STEM back for years 

June 10, 2020 Kevin 3
…
Next

Black health care professionals are in mourning and deserve to be entirely heard

June 10, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: COVID, Infectious Disease, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
COVID-19 will set female leaders in STEM back for years 
Next Post >
Black health care professionals are in mourning and deserve to be entirely heard

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Dawn Baker, MD

  • Social media: Striking a balance for physicians and parents

    Dawn Baker, MD
  • The addictive quest for achievement and its dangerous consequences

    Dawn Baker, MD
  • The voices of women physicians with infertility

    Dawn Baker, MD

Related Posts

  • Finding happiness in the time of COVID

    Anonymous
  • Birthing in the era of COVID

    Jennifer Roelands, MD
  • How to get patients vaccinated against COVID-19 [PODCAST]

    The Podcast by KevinMD
  • COVID-19 divides and conquers

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • The ethics of rationing care during COVID

    M. Bennet Broner, PhD
  • State sanctioned executions in the age of COVID-19

    Kasey Johnson, DO

More in Physician

  • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

    Nicole M. King, MD
  • Why U.S. health care pricing is so confusing—and how to fix it

    Ashish Mandavia, MD
  • From survival to sovereignty: What 35 years in the ER taught me about identity, mortality, and redemption

    Kenneth Ro, MD
  • When doctors forget how to examine: the danger of lost clinical skills

    Mike Stillman, MD
  • When the white coats become gatekeepers: How a quiet cartel strangles America’s health

    Anonymous
  • The man in seat 11A survived, but why don’t our patients?

    Dr. Vivek Podder
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions
    • How home-based AI can reduce health inequities in underserved communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Addressing the physician shortage: How AI can help, not replace

      Amelia Mercado | Tech
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • How home-based AI can reduce health inequities in underserved communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

      Nicole M. King, MD | Physician
    • What if medicine had an exit interview?

      Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C | Conditions
    • Why U.S. health care pricing is so confusing—and how to fix it

      Ashish Mandavia, MD | Physician
    • From survival to sovereignty: What 35 years in the ER taught me about identity, mortality, and redemption

      Kenneth Ro, MD | Physician
    • When doctors forget how to examine: the danger of lost clinical skills

      Mike Stillman, 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 2 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

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why removing fluoride from water is a public health disaster

      Steven J. Katz, DDS | Conditions
    • When did we start treating our lives like trauma?

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation

      Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian | Conditions
    • How home-based AI can reduce health inequities in underserved communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival

      Anonymous | Education
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • My journey from misdiagnosis to living fully with APBD

      Jeff Cooper | Conditions
    • Addressing the physician shortage: How AI can help, not replace

      Amelia Mercado | Tech
    • Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

      Jai Kumar, MD, Brian Nohomovich, DO, PhD and Leonid Shamban, DO | Meds
  • Recent Posts

    • How home-based AI can reduce health inequities in underserved communities [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Adriana Smith’s story: a medical tragedy under heartbeat laws

      Nicole M. King, MD | Physician
    • What if medicine had an exit interview?

      Lynn McComas, DNP, ANP-C | Conditions
    • Why U.S. health care pricing is so confusing—and how to fix it

      Ashish Mandavia, MD | Physician
    • From survival to sovereignty: What 35 years in the ER taught me about identity, mortality, and redemption

      Kenneth Ro, MD | Physician
    • When doctors forget how to examine: the danger of lost clinical skills

      Mike Stillman, 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

An unintended consequence of COVID universal masking
2 comments

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

Loading Comments...