Just like a surf beach shore, waves of COVID-19 keep crashing over the world’s Intensive Care Units. The waves have been unpredictable and pattern less, ravaging the ICUs and the people that work in them, often inconceivably.

In this second episode of the “Persevering Through A Pandemic” series, you’ll hear from Intensive Care professionals about the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to affect ICUs across the globe.

Amongst other topics, US intensivists Drs Rana Awdish & Dr Hayley Gershengorn, and Critical Care nurse Simone Hannah-Clark talk honestly about their worst pandemic days, the feelings of guilt, fear, anxiety and overall depletion, the effects on their family, what they witnessed in their struggling colleagues and how they dealt with the strain. You’ll also hear valuable thoughts on the nursing perspective, the difficult experience of being a patient in a pandemic, and the tension between the support from the community and the flagrant COVID-19 deniers.

There have been many emotional and heart-breaking conversations in ICUs all over the world during this pandemic. And we as their healthcare providers have emotions to express too. My belief is that we need to have conversations as colleagues, and as an Intensive Care community, about what we have been and are continuing to go through.

My hope is that this series will help you as a listener to reflect on and to process your own pandemic experience whilst hearing lessons you might take away to your Intensive Care community.

Thank you for listening to these wise and thoughtful Intensive Care clinicians tell you how they’ve been “Persevering Through A Pandemic”.

 

Andrew Davies

 

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About the Mastering Intensive Care podcast: The podcast aims to inspire and empower Intensive Care clinicians through conversations about the human side of Intensive Care to bring their best selves to work by focusing on compassion, collaboration and personal wellbeing.

 

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Links to featured guests

Dr Rana Awdish

Rana Awdish on Twitter @RanaAwdish

Book "In Shock" (by Rana Awdish)

Rana Awdish – Previous episode on Mastering Intensive Care

Dr Hayley Gershengorn

Hayley Gershengorn on Twitter @HBGMD

Hayley Gershengorn – Previous episode on Mastering Intensive Care

CCRN Simone Hannah-Clark

Simone Hannah-Clark on Twitter @kiwi_yankee

Simone Hannah-Clark – Previous episode on Mastering Intensive Care

 

Links related to Mastering Intensive Care podcast

Mastering Intensive Care podcast

Mastering Intensive Care page on Facebook

Mastering Intensive Care at Life In The Fast Lane

Andrew Davies on Twitter: @andrewdavies66

Andrew Davies on Instagram: @andrewdavies66

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Email Andrew Davies

Audio Producer Chris Burke

Burke Sound & Media