Impact of COVID-19: a surgical trainee perspective The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges worldwide. The status quo has particularly been offset for those in the remit of healthcare training and surgical trainees are no exception. As for any other healthcare professional, the risks of COVID-19 are real. Donning and doffing off multiple sets […]
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Monsoon, Vitamin-D, COVID-19: Implications for India
COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has caused 11,903 deaths in India as of 17 June 20201. Epidemiological evidence shows that transmission and peaks of infectious diseases are associated with the timing and severity of monsoon, generally peaking towards the end of the monsoon period2,3. Observational studies indicate that vitamin D deficiency might be a risk […]
Could postgraduate medical education look different after Covid-19?
The Covid-19 pandemic led to rapid changes in the way things are done throughout the NHS and delivery of postgraduate education is no exception. Almost overnight we moved from predominantly lecture-based teaching to online platforms such as Zoom. In the face of a global pandemic where clinicians have appropriately prioritised frontline clinical care, there was […]
IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: A FOUNDATION DOCTOR’S PERSPECTIVE
At the time of writing, there have been 4 258 666 cases of coronavirus globally since the first case was reported on the 31st December 2019 (1). This has had far reaching impacts in all aspects of life, resulting in lockdown of a third of the world’s population (2) at its peak and significant alteration […]
Physician Shield Thyself
We are foundation doctors who have been advised to ‘shield’ and are clinically defined as ‘extremely vulnerable’ (1). We are one of many groups within the wider population of doctors whose personal and working lives have been impacted by COVID-19. Our position has shifted from practicing doctors to ‘extremely vulnerable’ members of society. Public Health […]
FiY1s Need the Support of Their Teams to Add Value
In light of increasing pressure on the healthcare system due to COVID-19, the UK Foundation Programme Office has recently announced that final year medical students, most of whom received an early graduation and early provisional registration, would now be given the opportunity to start their training early and to take up the post of a […]
Stigma at the time of an outbreak
The origin of the word stigma stems from the late 16th century. The word comes via Latin (stigmat) from Greek (stizein) translating to a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.1 Quoting history’s most popular space franchise’s legendary character, Yoda – ‘Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate […]
Lessons from Lockdown
Lessons from LockdownI have to self-isolate “shielding” because I am on high dose steroids to control temporal, hopefully it will also be temporary, arteritis. After a life of frenetic activity, it was a shock to realise that an imposed physical slowdown also allowed a mental slowdown, allowing for an “on the thought” time for reflection […]
The Doctor will not Touch You – clinical medicine at a juncture(Abhijit Das)
We are currently going through a cataclysmic event in modern history. The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has struck with an unprecedented global scale and ferocity: within a span of 6 months, the virus has infected more than 6 million people and continues to spread unabated around the world. This extraordinary pandemic has brought in one definitive paradigm […]
Being a Director of Medical Education in the time of COVID (Dr Catherine Mathews)
In March 2020 things changed, seismically, both at home and at work. As my 11 year old twins prepared for their first day of home school, I prepared to set off to a new kind of workplace. “What will you be doing at work today Mummy?’ ‘Well – it’s mostly about my ‘Director of […]