Head – Department of Internal Medicine
COVID-19, the pandemic caused by the new Corona virus SARS COV-2, is holding us all firmly in its grip. Canada and, in particular, Manitoba seem only at the very beginning of the SARS COV-2 spread. SARS COV-2 affected first China, jumped then to Europe where it spread catastrophically in Italy, and more recently causes a health care crisis in the US, especially in some large US metropolitan areas.
We are bracing ourselves for the things to come. We are preparing for what we witnessed unfolding in other places around the globe. We were early with introducing social distancing measures, but it is too early to say whether we were early enough.
If not the spread of SARS COV-2, social distancing has slowed down or completely stopped daily life as we know it. Many outside the health care industry have lost or fear losing their jobs. Uncertainty is everywhere, causes angst, and triggers irrational behavior.
In the relentless stream of fast paced news it is difficult to discriminate information from misinformation. Rumors spread and we risk drowning in an ocean of unnecessary E-mails, memos, and bulletins that are already outdated when they are sent off.
How should we deal with this? Neither ignorance nor panic can be the answer. We need to stay calm, prepare rationally for the worst, but hope for the best. We all need to continue to do our work the best we can under the circumstances and continue to strive to deliver the highest quality of care to our patients.
We may see each other less in person and more virtually, but we are all in this together. If we stick (virtually) together, we will come out together (in person).
Some changes of how we do business, forced upon us by COVID-19, such as virtual clinic visits may have already been eye openers for how we can deliver care in a more patient friendly way. There is lots of opportunity to learn and preserve what has proven worthwhile for the time after COVID-19. And that time will come, the question is not whether, only when.