As I write this, I have just finished my ninth consecutive overnight shift as an emergency medicine physician here. At the end of each shift I go to an Airbnb, where I have been living alone for two and a half months, away from my wife and 10-year-old daughter so that I am less likely to pass the coronavirus on to them.
In a medical crisis, my job is to manage a clinical team, problem-solve and be in control. It is hard to admit that I feel vulnerable and scared when I think of the COVID-19 surge we are facing now and the combined COVID-19 and influenza tsunami expected later this year. But I am admitting it because you need to know how close health care workers are to breaking.
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