Through a resident鈥檚 eyes: A look back at 2020, COVID-19
Posted on March 24, 2021 by Nichelle Smith
In 2020, resident physicians training at USA Health quickly learned they would have to balance growing their medical knowledge in the specialty of their choice with adapting and embracing the many unknowns provided by a deadly respiratory illness, COVID-19. They were tasked with developing their skills as brand-new clinicians while adjusting to the new daily routines presented by the pandemic. This combination made for an interesting training experience, to say the least. Here鈥檚 what some of our residents had to say as they looked back on 2020:
Christina Mattingly, M.D.
Emergency Medicine PGY-1 resident
鈥淐OVID hit right as I was completing my last year of medical school. We weren鈥檛 able to enter hospitals towards the end. As I entered my residency training, I was apprehensive but excited to be back in the hospital environment.
鈥淎s a first-year emergency medicine resident physician, the very first patient I saw in the emergency room at University Hospital happened to be COVID positive. Ironically, my first day on my ICU rotation on the COVID floor was also the first time I ever had to withdraw care on a patient. That was tough.
鈥淭he most impactful interaction I had was with a COVID positive patient during that same rotation. I was taking care of them for most of the month, and when they were initially transferred to ICU they were talking and responsive so we were hopeful that the patient would get better. I would communicate with the patient鈥檚 daughter, who was probably around my age, via iPad quite often. Dressed in PPE, with only my eyes showing, I video-called her day-after-day to update her on the status of her parent.
鈥淭he last conversation I had with her I had given her good news, but that night the patient鈥檚 condition began to deteriorate and continued to decline. Three days later, the breathing worsened, and the patient eventually coded. I didn鈥檛 have to call the daughter to deliver the news since it didn鈥檛 happen during my shift, but it didn鈥檛 make the loss any easier.
鈥淭he next day when I returned to the ICU, I saw the empty bed where the patient spent nearly a month. My stomach dropped. That was the moment everything became reality.鈥�
Elizabeth Epko, M.D.
Emergency Medicine PGY-2 resident
鈥淚鈥檝e had colds and even the flu in the past, but this was different. As a physician, part of my job is to keep going even when I don鈥檛 feel the best 鈥� granted I鈥檓 not contagious, or being there would cause more harm than good.
鈥淭his time, it was different. I felt absolutely horrible. The only way I could describe it was that it felt like I was hit by a bus.
鈥淒uring this time, COVID-19 was just starting to make its way to the Gulf Coast, and there weren鈥檛 many cases yet. Following protocol, I got a rapid COVID test. To my relief, it was negative, so I took a Tylenol and went to work.
鈥淭hroughout the day, I started to progressively feel worse and developed a fever. I went home early and couldn鈥檛 get my fever below 102 for two days straight. I knew something wasn鈥檛 right. So, to be safe, I decided to get another COVID test. I wasn鈥檛 experiencing any of the key symptoms that we were told early on could be a sign of COVID. But, I tested again, nonetheless. It was negative.
鈥淎fter I got my fever to break, I returned to work, armed with my negative COVID-19 results and PPE. Still, I wasn鈥檛 myself. Something was off. My voice was completely nonexistent to the point that I had to write to communicate. I was also experiencing hot flashes and lethargy like I had never experienced before. And then, eight days after my first fever, I got conjunctivitis.
鈥淭he pink eye prompted another trip to the doctor. I informed them that there was no way I had COVID, because by this time I had three negative tests. They, of course, tested me anyway, and to my surprise, it was positive.
鈥淚 spent the next 10 days on quarantine at home. To this day, I have no clue how I got COVID. I was so, so careful. I didn鈥檛 leave my house other than to go to work and grab groceries.
鈥淔ast forward one year later, I was able to get the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Although I already had the antibodies from having the virus, I still felt it was important to arm myself with as much protection as possible. After I got my shot, guess what happened? Yep, pink eye again. But, I guess that鈥檚 a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.鈥�