COVID-19

Physicians, nurses, residents, and students writing on KevinMD during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, most of it in real time between March 2020 and 2022: the first weeks and the shortages, the surge, redeployment, schools and masks, the vaccine's arrival and the people who refused it, and what the years did to the people who worked through them. This archive is a primary record of what clinicians wrote as it happened, and more of it was written anonymously than any other subject on the site. For that record organized as a timeline, with the disagreements recorded as physicians made them, see COVID-19: what physicians wrote as it happened. For what physicians said about burnout in those years and since, see Physician burnout: what physicians say, in their own words.

COVID-19 is causing small but growing fractures in our hospitals

Yoo Jung Kim, MD

Conditions and Diseases

September 6, 2020

It’s an odd time to be a new physician. One of the best parts about working at a hospital is the sense of friendship and professional camaraderie that you build with other doctors, nurses, therapists, medical assistants, secretaries, etc.

However, in the COVID-19 era, group events, bonding activities, dinners, conferences, social events, and holiday parties are no longer responsible options. This is for a good reason; according to an email leaked …

Facebook has become a dangerous platform for misinformation. Or has it?

Mark Tosca, DO

Social Media in Medicine

September 5, 2020

I read with fascination the opinion piece published New York Times:'” But I Saw It on Facebook’: Hoaxes are Making Doctors’ Jobs Harder” because it’s a topic that’s been on my mind lately. Particularly after I engaged in a Facebook exchange with close friends who were forwarding misinformation from the less than reputable “American Frontline Doctors” about COVID-19. The American Frontline Doctors group was more interested …

An international medical graduate’s COVID reflection

Madhuri Chengappa, MD

Conditions and Diseases

September 5, 2020

A new year, a new beginning, and the start of the final year of an eventful decade began with rumblings about a possible disease that would later spread rapidly around the globe to cause catastrophic devastation, lifestyle changes, closure of borders, while at the same time, begging for a desperate need to find a solution. COVID-19 soon got categorized as a pandemic in March 2020.

As an international medical graduate (IMG) …

Medicine must create inclusive clinical trials

Amelia Trant and Andrea Silber, MD

Physician

September 4, 2020

Clinical trials have an ugly history with race, but have we gone from exploitation to exclusion? People of color have long been underrepresented in clinical trials of all kinds; however, as the coronavirus pandemic rages and global attention is fixed on vaccine trials, the low participation rates of people of color have been noticed by the lay media. Much of the medical community would say that …

Overcoming the invisible “coronavirus wall” between doctors and patients

Philip A. Masters, MD

Physician

September 4, 2020

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.

Pandemics periodically alter the course of history, reshaping society as people struggle to deal with the consequences of a new and often devastating disease. As with past pandemics, over just a few months we have witnessed the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus stretch our …

Which COVID-19 test should I get?

Christine Lau, MD

Conditions and Diseases

September 4, 2020

COVID-19 testing has been on the rise – with more and more tests being developed and more testing sites available. Many are drive-thru and walk-in test sites, and anyone is able to show up and get tested. There are so many different types of COVID-19 testing (PCR testing, antigen testing, and antibody testing) via different routes (nasal, nasopharyngeal, oral, saliva, venous blood sample, and fingerpricks), that patients often don’t know …

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Which COVID-19 test should I get?

How technology is a weapon in the fight against COVID-19

Amita Kundra, MD

Health Technology

September 2, 2020

As the COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the globe, companies are working hard to develop innovative solutions to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese companies such as Alibaba have led the way using artificial intelligence, data science, and technology. Startups are teaming up with clinicians, engineers, and government entities to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As we continue our fight in the management and eventual eradication of the virus, here …

It’s time to return civility to medical discourse

Rebekah Bernard, MD

Physician

September 1, 2020

I was scrolling through Facebook when it popped up. “Live! America’s Frontline Doctors address COVID-19.” A group of physicians in white coats stood before the Supreme Court, speaking into a microphone. As I stopped to watch, I was surprised to see several familiar faces—physicians I had interacted with on various social media physician groups.

I knew from reading previous posts on social media that these doctors were proponents of the drug …

A post-COVID medical world

Cristina Carballo-Perelman, MD

Physician

September 1, 2020

As we navigate everyday life in the midst of battling COVID-19, our thoughts naturally migrate to what medicine might look like post viral pandemic.

As the new norms of social distancing, virtual meetings, and little to no human contact continue, we cannot help but wonder will these new social norms become permanent behavior patterns? And if so, what implications do they have for the physician and patient alike?

Humans are a social …

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A post-COVID medical world

A sober emergency physician returns to work, just in time to face the COVID-19 pandemic

J. D. Remy, MD

Physician

August 31, 2020

An excerpt from Ballad of a Sober Man: An ER Doctor’s Journey of Recovery.

As if I needed more reminders of my imperfections, I had Maggie and the Kidney Stone Lady, forever. Little Maggie, the cute five-year-old from early in my career who came in with her …

What it’s like to work in long-term care during the pandemic

Cassandra Hoggard, MD

Conditions and Diseases

August 29, 2020

The worst day of a COVID-19 outbreak in long-term care is the first day. There are tears. How did it get in? How did we fail? How do we tell the families? When does the media show up? There is shame, tremendous shame. Shame that we put on ourselves and that the outside world puts on us.

Then the shame turns to fear. Where is it? Who …

Please listen to those in the trenches

Michele Luckenbaugh

Patient

August 29, 2020

Where have the months of summer gone? The hazy, lazy days of summer to be spent out on the lake, picnicking with friends and family, state fairs, all the fun things we long to take part in. Occasions that should call for one to be present at with anticipation such as class reunions, weddings, baptisms of new babies, graduation ceremonies – all have come to a screeching halt. Even the …

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Please listen to those in the trenches

The impact of COVID-19 on human kindness

Cristina Carballo-Perelman, MD

Physician

August 29, 2020

Human kindness is a trait that, though inherent within our genetic make-up, can also be a learned behavior.

The absence of human kindness is blatantly visible to others when a lack of compassion and/or empathy permeates within an interaction with another human being.

As our daily life responsibilities continue at a steady state: mundane things such as paying bills, holding down a job and successfully interacting with co-workers, our ability to respond …

How to be a transformational, supportive leader during COVID-19

Kara Arnold, PhD, MBA, Amanda Hancock, and Jennifer Dimoff, PhD, MBA

Conditions and Diseases

August 28, 2020

The behavior of managers and supervisors in organizations affects the mental health of their employees. This is especially true during times of uncertainty, such as a global pandemic.

Does a leader’s health and well-being change how they lead?

Early evidence shows that when leaders are experiencing challenging conditions, they are more likely to become resource depleted and exhibit negative behaviors, such as passive leadership or abusive …

6 strategies to help you return to exercise routines safely

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions and Diseases

August 28, 2020

If you’ve always been an avid gym-goer, the COVID-19 pandemic may have significantly disrupted your fitness routine as gyms, health clubs and exercise classes were unavailable for months. Getting active again is not only good for your physical health, but it’s also beneficial for mental health and can help you manage the symptoms of depression and anxiety, which a larger than ever number of people report experiencing during the pandemic.

But …

The final insult after my husband died alone

Anonymous

Conditions and Diseases

August 27, 2020

This new virus is changing everyday life-hospitals are doing their best to protect their staff and patients. One thing I’ve learned is that they need to do a better job of communicating with families.

My husband was 70 years old when he died of cancer and COVID-related issues. He was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, lung mets to the brain on December 23, 2019. Because he had only one lesion in …

A medical student’s 100 days of COVID

Priyanka Shindgikar

Conditions and Diseases

August 27, 2020

March 11, 2020. The medical school officially made all classes remote until the end of the semester. Tom Hanks and his wife have coronavirus. The NBA is suspended; Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert has corona. Travel to Europe is suspended. The renal midterm can be postponed if you choose. Not going home anymore. I don’t want my parents to get it because of me. I had to cancel Spain. What …

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A medical student’s 100 days of COVID

A coronavirus confession

Raymond Abbott

Conditions and Diseases

August 25, 2020

I am elderly now, and as a lad, I was raised a Roman Catholic. That often involved going to confession.

I wondered if confession was still done, part of the faith. You can see how out of touch I am. I am here to report confession is alive and flourishing in the church. In the city where I live, confession is now offered (probably entirely) outside the church itself. It is …

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A coronavirus confession

Residency recruitment in the era of COVID-19: Why it’s more important than ever for programs to have an online persona

Kevin Zhang, MD

Physician

August 23, 2020

More than six months into the COVID-19 pandemic and with social distancing measures in full swing, virtually every facet of life in America has been affected, with medical education being no exception. Medical students have been forced to reschedule USMLE/COMLEX board exams and cancel entire rotations. Residents have been re-deployed to work in COVID-19 ICUs. And of course, the annual residency application and recruitment season have …

The world needs more infectious disease doctors

Jesse O'Shea, MD

Conditions and Diseases

August 23, 2020

My face shield whistled with noise as it brushed against my thin yellow gown. Bright monitors surrounded me, chirping like cardinals in the summer. A slow exhale felt comfortably warm against my N-95 mask. Treading down the river of COVID-19 patients as a second-year infectious disease fellow, I knew this was exactly where I needed to be. Even beneath these protective barriers, I could look left, right, and …

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