What I’m Doing During COVID-19 Pandemic

I'm currently working a little bit less because I mostly work in private hospitals. I work in public one day a week and am continuing that right now where I see my patients online. I’ve also offered my help to public hospitals and will be on call should they need me during this challenging time. At this stage, I am kept as a backup in the case when staff become sick and unable to perform, their duties. I'm planning on creating some education material for students I teach as well as for my YouTube channel. 

I have recently set up a Covid-19 decontamination area in our home. I enter through different doors into it, strip down and put my clothes in a rubbish bag. Then I have a shower. I also wash my shoes and clothes straight away. This happens before I am in contact with anyone in the house including dogs.

This is really hard because I can hear the dogs crying at the top of the stairs waiting to see me while I avoid transferring any virus that I may have from my clothes or body onto them. It has to be done through even now. I may not need to use these strict measures now, however, I am setting up a habit for what might come our way. When I work long hours and get home tired, I don’t need to think about it, as it’s an automatic reaction and I just do it. I hope it won’t get to the point where I will need to use it for long, but if I am like a soldier practising for war, if war happens I will know what to do. 

Another important thing I'm doing is focusing on staying healthy. I'm cooking my meals and eating well. This is how I keep my strength up. I'm avoiding drinking alcohol. I have 4 to 6 alcohol-free days a week and when I do drink, I limit it to a couple of glasses of wine only. This is because of the way alcohol affects me where I cannot get back to a high energy level if I drink excessively. 

It is easy to turn to a drink during stressful situations like the current one, as it is a coping mechanism for many. However, I recommend avoiding drinking excessively. 

I'm also keeping up my exercising, as it makes me feel good, especially in stressful times. I take my dogs out for a walk regularly which keeps me fit and helps with coping long operating hours. 

I’m also making sure I get plenty of rest right now. More than 50% of doctors experience burnout at some stage in our lives. I never know when I might end up working 70 - 100 hours a week or maybe even more if the Covid-19 situation gets extremely worse. So, if I have plenty of rest now, I will hopefully have reserves in case of long working hours later. Though I’m hoping it won’t get to that. 

I'm also avoiding reading too much social media, as it focuses on the negative and can stress me. I use it to read the latest news and research (Twitter) about Covid-19, but apart from that, I am currently avoiding it. I’ve started reading more books, which I’m enjoying. 

I also turned all WhatsApp group notifications off on my phone, so I’m not a part of too many groups. Otherwise, my phone will ding all the time. I'm also avoiding too many Zoom meetings. If I don't need to be at one, I won’t do it, as it’s a waste of my time and increases my stress levels. I'm still virtually socialising with my friends via FaceTime, WhatsApp and other apps.

On a positive note, I wanted to say that we will get through this and it will make us stronger. By the end of it, it might be realised that healthcare is not about making money, but it's about people and good health. In some strange way, it may make us all closer to one another and we will realise the need for a community spirit after being so socially distant for so long.