Doctors Want Masks, Not Wellness Modules

Healthcare workers are distracted by worry about shortages of PPE.

Artist Sara Paglia was inspired to create an action painting of doctors facing COVID-19. Used with permission,

The stress is unbelievable, say healthcare workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak. COVID-19 has brought unprecendented suffering, and teams are trying to peform under extraordinary levels of stress. But as doctors and nurses are increasinlgy unable to protect themselves with personal protective equipment like masks and gowns, job performance may suffer.

Doctors are getting sick.

Dr. Nicole Battaglioli, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Emory, is an ER attending at Grady Hospital in downtown Atlanta. During a shift, she was pulled to see the “COVID screeners,” patients who had been flagged by the triage nurse for possible infection with COVID-19.

She did her best to keep her distance. The current guidance is that if both patients and doctor wear surgical masks, the doctor is protected from exposure. “I found myself in a basic surgical mask. You see people coming in and they’re given a mask and it’s like half on their face, under their nose and falling down. You have to keep reminding them, ‘You know you can’t take your mask off while you talk to me. That’s the purpose of the mask, you have to leave it on.’”