"When I think about how I'm feeling right now, it frankly is frustrated. When all of this started, I really felt for the first time that as an emergency physician, our community was recognizing all the things that we do. And when the vaccine came out, I really thought, finally, we have a way to get out of this mess. And now it feels like at best we're treading water, that some of us are moving forward, having gotten vaccinated. And it's so many people are not getting vaccinated. And it's just very challenging.
The way I've coped with it is really talking with friends who are in the medical community, and specifically who are emergency physicians. I think it's really important to not feel alone.
I think the most important thing we can do forward, kind of moving forward together, is to be there for each other. To recognize that this is a really tough job, but that we have the opportunity to do so much good for our patients and for our communities.
And that when we reach peak frustration, which certainly I do when I walk into a shift where there are so many boarders and there's so many challenges, is that we're still there for each other.
That makes a huge difference. So, I hope that you'll reach out if you feel alone, because all of us in emergency medicine are in this together."
