COVID-19: lessons for junior doctors redeployed to critical care.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32581082.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-138100 and PMC identifier 10016976.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Approximately 4% of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will require admission to an intensive care unit (ICU). Governments have cancelled elective procedures, ordered new ventilators and built new hospitals to meet this unprecedented challenge. However, intensive care ultimately relies on human resources. To enhance surge capacity, many junior doctors have been redeployed to ICU despite a relative lack of training and experience. The COVID-19 pandemic poses additional challenges to new ICU recruits, from the practicalities of using personal protective equipment to higher risks of burnout and moral injury. In this article, we describe lessons for junior doctors responsible for managing patients who are critically ill with COVID-19 based on our experiences at an urban teaching hospital.
Medical subject headings
- COVID-19
- Clinical Competence
- Communication
- Critical Care
- Interprofessional Relations
- Medical Staff, Hospital
- Professional-Family Relations