i am a health care professional on the front line of this pandemic, at an inner-city emergency department. as emergency physicians, we live at society’s front door. we see society’s most ill, impoverished, medically and socially vulnerable populations. we don’t live in ivory towers. we live in the trenches and proudly fight medical battles.
but you already knew that.
i won’t remind you that some of us don’t have the supplies needed to safeguard ourselves.
i won’t remind you that we go to work in fear for our lives and for our loved ones at home.
i won’t remind you that some of us have made the agonizing decision to live apart from our loved ones to protect their health.
i won’t remind you that hand hygiene and social distancing may save lives.
i won’t remind you that we often only have seconds to minutes to make difficult life and death decisions.
i won’t remind you about the emotional toll this has taken on many of us in acute care settings.
instead, i want to highlight the unsung heroes fighting this battle who deserve your acclaim.
doctors and nurses, no doubt, deserve kudos. the throngs of police and ems personnel that showed their appreciation along university avenue’s “hospital row†on april 19th was a moment healthcare professionals in toronto will never forget. the shrill sirens that we usually associate with disaster, for that moment, transformed into inspirational ballads of gratitude. but doctors and nurses must share this adulation with many others making a difference in these trying times.