Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
DCMS member Lanny Wilson, MD, shares his thoughts on the special significance breathing has acquired during 2020 in this Member Pulse. All views are the author's.
On May 25, 2020, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man was killed by a Minneapolis police officer while a bystander filmed critical portions of the event. During the last minutes of his life, with the policeman's knee pressed against his neck, George Floyd uttered the words, "I can't breathe."
These words became the rallying cry for protests throughout the United States and in cities across the globe. The phrase was familiar because in 2014 another Black man, Eric Garner, was killed by another policeman. While in a choke hold, Mr. Garner pleaded "I can't breathe" 11 times before dying. "I can't breathe" have been the dying words of at least 70 victims of police violence in the United States, according to a 2020 report in The New York Times. When someone says "I can't breathe" those present should react to help. The outrage after these deaths resulted from the arresting officers ignoring the victims' words.
The "rule of threes" has been used as a rough guide for how long a person can live without three of our basic life needs. A person will die if deprived of food for three weeks, and water for three days, but oxygen for only three minutes.
Most people can hold their breath for somewhere between 30 seconds and two minutes; but death will occur within three and 10 minutes if a person is deprived of oxygen for that period of time. Mr. Floyd's neck was compressed for eight minutes and 47 seconds. Life and breath go hand-in-hand. The COVID-19 pandemic is deadly because when the virus infects the lungs it causes an acute respiratory distress syndrome. At the same time we watched Mr. Floyd die because he could not breathe, thousands of people throughout the country were dying because they could not breathe.
My regret is that we will likely cure the COVID-19 pandemic much sooner than we will cure the cause of Mr. Floyd's and Mr. Garner's deaths. May we come to appreciate every precious breath of life and help to ensure that all human beings can enjoy that privilege.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
DCMS member Shahzaib Khan, DO, completed medical school at CCOM/Midwestern University this spring and is now in a psychiatry residency at Riverside Healthcare, Kankakee. He shares his thoughts on being a student and new intern during a pandemic in this Member Pulse. All views are the author's.
Being a student during COVID, I battled with this new reality of having an endless amount of time on my hands with nothing to do, yet no way to help. Being accustomed to a high-intensity, fast-paced environment, it was challenging to transition away from rotations and just sit at home unable to contribute. After enduring this new lifestyle for a number of weeks, I felt disoriented, the days meshing together. Additionally, the transition to online learning proved disorganized; there was no time for school administration to prepare for immediately implementing a new learning model. That led to communication lapses, lack of clear directives, and extended waiting times for IT to resolve technical issues. With graduation and match week rightfully cancelled for the greater public good, I missed out on those momentous occasions. Conversely, it allowed for a more personal and quiet celebration with family which I found to be a blessing in itself. Nonetheless, it was still shocking to have such an abrupt and unceremonious end to my schooling. I had never considered that 21 years of school would end with emails stating we were off rotations and congratulating me on graduating. It was jarring. My experience with transition to residency, on the other hand, was seamless. COVID interrupted a psychiatry rotation and then I started my psychiatry residency on an inpatient psychiatry service – it was as though I hadn't missed a beat. I recognize, however, that not everyone was so fortunate; several incoming interns were thrown into demanding services that they were 3-plus months of quarantine underprepared for. Should we have had more orientation training regarding adjustments for COVID? Absolutely. As a resident not working at the forefront, COVID has not really impacted me. Speaking with residents currently on critical care rotations treating COVID patients, however, I understand how isolating and daunting that must feel. And the inability to see loved ones during the small breaks allotted in residency training out of fear of exposing them is a reality I will know soon enough.
Written by kate@dcmsdocs.org on . Posted in Uncategorised
DCMS member Savangi Patel, a fourth year medical student at CCOM/Midwestern University, shares her thoughts on COVID-19 masks in this inaugural Member Pulse. All views are the author's.
Wearing masks was once just a question of public health, but now a decision to not wear one represents a statement of independence and individualism. In other words, mask wearing has become symbolic of political beliefs. We see that for many, there is a strong culture of individualism and reluctance to follow governmental recommendations, even if it means infecting others. As stay-at-home orders are lifted and more businesses open, I worry that an individual's statement of autonomy over their actions will lead to catastrophic pandemic effects. Although autonomy is an important principle in medicine, imagine the feeling of disappointment and frustration that must be felt by healthcare workers. Frustration because not only are essential personnel at high risk of contracting COVID-19, but also because of their fear of infecting their families and friends. Sometimes in medicine it proves difficult to balance a patient's autonomy with beneficence. The same dilemma occurs with face masks. For me, considering this issue as a medical ethical predicament, beneficence takes precedence over autonomy; I suspect many healthcare workers agree. So we require vaccinations prior to school enrollment and we directly observe tuberculosis treatment. Each time I step foot out of my apartment to run errands and see people not wearing a face mask, I think of the fine balance between individualism and greater good of the general public. When a friend grieves the COVID-19 death of a grandparent, I'll wonder if exhibiting a political stance justifies the death of someone's loved one.