After the apex, hospitals prepare to treat trauma in frontline medical staff
The fight against COVID-19 is often compared to a war effort, and with good reason. In addition to the rapid mobilization and widespread sacrifice required, the mental health effects of the pandemic are already proving similar to challenges faced in wartime.
And in no segment of the population is this more true than for medical workers on the front lines, who in addition to falling ill at higher rates—in New York City, nearly 1,000 of the city’s medical workers had tested positive for the virus as of mid-April — are grappling with serious strains on their emotional and mental health.
“People are seeing things on the job that they haven’t seen in their lifetimes,” said Neil Leibowitz, chief medical officer of Talkspace, a therapy app that since March has been offering free hours of therapy to doctors, nurses and social workers. “Many people in the medical field, we haven’t had a war in their lifetime, we haven’t had mass destruction or anything equivalent to this. How rapid this is, and the overall mortality rate, is very overwhelming.”
Given safety regulations that require COVID-19 patients to remain isolated, medical staff are also often the only people interacting with severely ill or dying patients, creating an extra layer of potential emotional distress. On top of this, many workers are grappling with stressors including long hours, inadequate equipment, separation from loved ones, and a concept known as “moral injury” — an effect often seen in soldiers who have had to make decisions or witness traumatic events that go against their usual moral beliefs.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/after-the-apex-hospitals-prepare-to-treat-trauma-in-frontline-medical-staff-2020-04-27?mod=health-care
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