Humans not heroes: Canadian emergency physician experiences during the early COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BackgroundThe pandemic has upended much clinical care, irrevocably changing our health systems and thrusting emergency physicians into a time of great uncertainty and change. This study is a follow-up to a survey that examined the early pandemic experience among Canadian emergency physicians and aimed to qualitatively describe the experiences of these physicians during the global pandemic. The study was conducted at a time when Canadian COVID-19 case numbers were low.MethodsThe investigators engaged in an interview-based study that used an interpretive description analytic technique, sensitised by the principles of phenomenology. One-to-one interviews were conducted, transcribed and then analysed to establish a codebook, which was subsequently grouped into key themes. Results underwent source triangulation (with survey data from a similar period) and investigator-driven audit trail analysis.ResultsA total of 16 interviews (11 female, 5 male) were conducted between May and September 2020. The isolated themes on emergency physicians’ experiences during the early pandemic included: (1) disruption and loss of emergency department shift work; (2) stress of COVID-19 uncertainty and information bombardment; (3) increased team bonding; (4) greater personal life stress; (5) concern for patients’ isolation, miscommunication and disconnection from care; (6) emotional distress.ConclusionsCanadian emergency physicians experienced emotional and psychological distress during the early COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when COVID-19 prevalence was low. This study’s findings could guide future interventions to protect emergency physicians against pandemic-related distress.

Portrait of French-speaking minorities with respect to vaccination against COVID-19

“…This trend is noted by other studies in high-income countries (( 17 )). The literature indicates that mixed attitudes may stem from inconsistent information from official sources (( 21 – 24 )), becoming a risk to communication and patient disregard for medical care (( 25 )).…”

“…Although FSMs generally doubted its efficacy, they mainly got vaccinated to obtain the vaccine passport and to protect themselves against serious illness, especially in the case of men. Given the inconsistency of information, also felt among healthcare professionals (( 25 )), FSMs were not always able to count on the news and relied on the recommendations of government agencies, promising a return to normality thanks to vaccination (( 24 , 26 )).…”

Emergency department care experiences among people who use substances: a qualitative study

“…In many nations including Canada, EDs are operating under considerable pressures and limited capacities. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly exacerbated this issue, this is nevertheless not a new problem [ 38 ]. In such stressful and time-sensitive environments, healthcare staff are more likely to face personal and emotional stresses, burnout, and exhaustion [ 38 , 39 ].…”

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“…Still, as cases of infected patients, colleagues, and families increased, physicians’ ability to successfully bounce back from this pandemic trauma eventually declined over time [ 22 ]. In fact, more recent studies examining physicians’ experiences that were conducted during the first and second wave of the pandemic revealed that the positive effects of inter-personal factors (e.g., greater team bonding, respect and thankfulness from both colleagues and the public, and positive institutional dynamics and communication strategies) were short lived and quickly replaced by anxiety and panic in both their personal and professional domains [ 20 , 23 ].…”