THINKING OF THE CONVERSATIONS I’VE HAD WITH THEM.
I WAS NOT TRAINED FOR THIS.
JOINING ME NOW IS ANOTHER
DOCTOR, NEW YORK CITY EMERGENCY
ROOM DR. CALVIN SUN.
HE’S A PER DIEM ER DOC, WHICH
MEANS HE WORKS AT MULTIPLE NEW
YORK CITY HOSPITALS AND PICKS UP
SHIFTS AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE.
HE’S WORKED AT MORE THAN A DOZEN
EMERGENCY ROOMS IN NEW YORK CITY
ALONE.
ALONE. DR. SUN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
BEING HERE.
BEING HERE. CAN I JUST ASK YOU WHAT YOUR
NORMAL SCHEDULE IS AND WHAT
YOU’VE BEEN WORKING LATELY?
>> I DON’T HAVE A NORMAL
SCHEDULE.
SCHEDULE. I NEVER HAD.
AND BEING A PER DIEM EMERGENCY
MEDICINE PHYSICIAN OR EHERMEREME
EMERGENTOLOGIST IS COMING WHEN
THEY NEED YOU.
15, 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE SHIFT
STARTED I WAS IN A CAB AND
RESPONDED TO A TEXT.
PROBABLY AFTER THIS INTERVIEW,
I’LL GO IN FOR AN EVENING SHIFT.
AND THAT’S BEEN MY DAY-TO-DAY
SCHEDULE.
SCHEDULE. AS A PER DIEM DOCTOR, I CAN
CHOOSE WHEREVER AND WHENEVER I
WANT TO WORK, BUT IN A WARTIME
SCENARIO SUCH AS THIS, IT’S A
CALLING.
CALLING. I HAVE TO GO IN.
>> TELL ME WHAT YOU’RE SEEING.
>> I’M SEEING EMS STRETCHERS
LINING UP DOWN THE BLOCK,
WAITING UP TO FIVE HOURS JUST TO
BE TRIAGED.
BE TRIAGED. SO IMAGINE CALLING 911 AND
EXPECTING TO SEE A DOCTOR
IMMEDIATELY WHEN YOU GET TO THE
HOSPITAL, BUT THEN BEING TOLD
THAT YOU HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE
FOR, YOU DON’T NOW HOW LONG, AND
IT ENDS UP BEING FIVE HOURS.
I’M SEEING WAITING ROOMS PACKED
LINE SARDINES WITH 20 TO 30
PATIENTS INSIDE TINY WAITING
ROOMS WHO CANNOT MAINTAIN THE
SIX-FOOT SOCIAL DISTANCING RULE,
BECAUSE IT’S TOO SMALL, BUT THE
EMERGENCY ROOM IS LIKE A GAME OF
TETRIS WHERE STRETCHERS ARE
LINED UP IN THE HALLWAYS, AND
WAITING 80 HOURS FOR A BED TO GO
UPSTAIRS, BECAUSE THEY’RE ALL
FULL.
FULL. SO WHERE DO THEY GO?
WE CAN’T LEAVE THEM OUTSIDE.
WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF
EVERYBODY.
EVERYBODY. SO THAT’S WHAT I’M SEEING THE
FIRST MINUTE OF MY SHIFT.
ON ANY EMERGENCY ROOM THAT I AM
RESPONDING.
RESPONDING. >> WHAT ABOUT THE DOCTORS AND
NURSES WHO HAVE BEEN EXPOSED?
WE WATCHED IN ITALY AS DOCTORS
AND NURSES BECAME SICK AND AS
THEY PUT OUT CALLS FOR MORE
DOCTORS, THEY SAID THAT THEY
JUST DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH.
IS THAT HAPPENING HERE IN NEW
YORK?
YORK? >> OH, MY GOD.
I HAVE COUNTLESS EXPOSURES IN
WORKFORCE.
WORKFORCE. THE REASON THAT I’VE WORKED 18
SHIFTS IN THE LAST 21 DAYS, WHEN
I NORMALLY ONLY WORK 10 TO 11
PER MONTH IS BECAUSE SO MANY
OPENINGS ARE MADE AVAILABLE BY
DOCTORS WHO ARE CALLING OUT SICK
OR BEING EXPOSED OR HOSPITALIZED
OR EVEN ON LIFE SUPPORT.
I’M FILLING IN FOR THOSE HOLES
THAT ARE POPPING UP EVERYWHERE.
AND NURSES, I’VE TREATED MY OWN
COLLEAGUES, PUT THEM ON
BREATHING MACHINES, INTUBATED
THEM.
THEM. AND IT’S VERY SADDENING TO SEE
THAT WE COULD HAVE PREVENTED ALL
OF THIS IF WE HAD BEEN
ADEQUATELY PROTECTED FROM DAY
ONE.
ONE. BUT I’VE BEEN WORKING THE LAST
THREE WEEKS, I HAVE TO COBBLE MY
OWN PPE, JUST SO I DON’T BECOME
THE NEXT PATIENT FOR MY
COLLEAGUES TO TAKE IN.
AND IT’S JUST OVERWHELMING OUR
HOSPITAL CARE SYSTEM, WHEN YOU
DON’T HAVE ENOUGH OF US TO TAKE
CARE OF THE PATIENTS WHO ARE
COMING IN DROEFSVES AND THEN WE
BECOME PATIENTS OURSELVES.
>> WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEBODY
THINKS THAT THEY MIGHT BE
EXPOSED?
EXPOSED? SHOULD THEY CONTINUE WORKING?
>> IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO EVEN
IMAGINE WHAT THE DECISION MAKING
PROCESS IS.
PROCESS IS. BECAUSE THERE’S A SENSE OF GUILT
THAT A DOCTOR OR NURSE AND PA
MAY FEEL WHEN THEY SWEAR AN OATH
TO TAKE CARE OF THE PATIENTS
FIRST AND FOUT OURSELVES IN
HARM’S WAY ON A DAY-TO-DAY
BASIS, EVEN BEFORE THIS PANDEMIC
HITS.
HITS. BUT KNOWING THAT BEING EXPOSED
AND HAVING THIS ILLNESS, YOU MAY
ACTUALLY RISK MORE HARM TAKING
CARE OF YOUR PATIENTS, BY
EXPOSING THEM TO YOUR INFECTION?
WHAT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO?
DO YOU NOT GO INTO WORK, BUT
THEN YOUR STAFF IS NOT
SUPPORTED.
SUPPORTED. YOU NEED NUMBERS TO TAKE CARE OF
THE PATIENTS, BUT WE’RE RUN OUT
OF THOSE NUMBERS.
BECOMING A PATIENT OURSELVES, WE
HAVE THIS BURDEN, THIS GUILT OF
OVERSTRESSING AND ALREADY OUR
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IS BURSTING
AT THE SEAMS.
SO SOME PEOPLE ARE, YOU KNOW,
TELL THE TRUTH.
AND THEN THEY’RE FURLOUGHED.
AND I’M THE ONE FILLING IN THOSE
SHIFTS, PUTTING MYSELF AT RISK
OF EXPOSURE, BRINGING IT HOME
WITH ME, OR SOME PEOPLE MAY FEEL
THIS PRESSURE TO SAY, IF IT’S
ONLY MILD SYMPTOMS, COVER IT UP,
PUT ON A MASK, AND GET BACK TO
WORK.
WORK. THAT WAS THE NOTION OF WHAT WE
WERE DOING WHEN WE HAD INFLUENZA
OUTBREAKS AND SEASONAL FLU,
WHERE IF YOU WERE SICK, YOU PUT
ON A MASK AND GET BACK TO WORK.
I’VE WORKED SHIFTS BEFORE THIS
PANDEMIC, WHERE I HOOKED MYSELF
TO AN IV AND SAW PATIENTS IF I
FELT I WAS ILL, BECAUSE I DIDN’T
WANT TO CALL OUT.
BECAUSE THAT’S THE CULTURE OF
OUR DISCIPLINE AND WHAT WE’RE
TRAINED TO DO.
BUT IN THIS SCENARIO, I KNOW
IT’S VERY DIFFERENT THE WAY THIS
VIRUS IS SO CONTAGIOUS AND WE
DON’T WANT TO HARM OUR PATIENTS.
IT IS AN ETHICAL DILEMMA, ONE OF
MANY, THAT WE FACE EVERY DAY.
>> IT IS JUST SO SCARY AND WE
THANK YOU FOR DOING WHAT YOU DO,
AND ALSO FOR COMING ON AND
DESCRIBING IT TO US.
WE’RE ALL STUCK AT HOME, SO WE
HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT’S LIKE OUT
THERE AND WE CAN ONLY TELL THE
STORY THROUGH THE ONES THAT ARE
SEEING IT WITH THEIR OWN EYES