I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all of my colleagues for not only being on the frontlines, but also for making the time to share their unique stories, experiences, and even hopes with everyone at home. It is clear, while we have different specialties, perspectives, appearances, and locations of practice, we are more united than we realize.
Read the transcript below:
Mikhail Varshavski, DO: Hey, guys. This novel coronavirus pandemic has truly affected all of us across the globe, but one of the hardest-hit communities has been healthcare frontline workers. This means doctors, nurses, CMAs, respiratory therapists, technicians, custodial staff, and so many more.
Today I'd like to take a focus and celebrate doctors in memory of those who've laid down their lives in the battle against COVID-19. I sat down and interviewed over 100 physicians to get their take, experiences, and learn their perspectives about the coronavirus. Know that all the revenue generated from this video, AdSense, donations, and even merch sales are all going to the CDC Foundation to help continue this battle against COVID-19.
The first question I asked these doctors is, what do you think is not getting enough attention?
1. Brian Sutterer: I wish there was more credit and awareness being given to other members of the healthcare teams aside from just the doctors and the nurses.
2. John Patton: Techs, transporters, housekeeping, kitchen staff, valets, operators.
3. Jedidiah Ballard: X-ray, laboratory, radiology techs, EMT, janitorial staff.
4. Chethan Sathya: Cafeteria workers, the respiratory therapists, the nurses, and everyone else here on the front lines towards our abilities to do our jobs.
5. Ali Haider: The number of doctors and healthcare professionals out there who have gotten seriously ill, even lost their lives fighting this disease.
6. Jen Gunter: Some healthcare workers have been disciplined for speaking up about the lack of personal protective equipment.
7. Alex George: Testing is an area we need a huge amount of focus on and attention on in the U.K.
8. Sandra Lee: We need antibody tests. We need to know who has immunity.
9. Jill Grimes: In many communities, the small number of cases being reported is simply a reflection of lack of testing.
10. Jen Caudle: How coronavirus is and will affect certain communities, our homeless community, our community of people with special needs.
11. Mona Amin: The domestic abuse and domestic violence that is happening during a pandemic with victims being in the same home as perpetrators for longer periods of time in this quarantine.
12. Ian Fields: We've limited and cut the number of visits a woman can have before she delivers.
13. Rabia De Latour: Visitors, family, really no one is allowed to be at the bedside when you're infected with COVID.
14. Anthony Fauci: If you look closely, you will see that there are young people who are otherwise well who can get seriously ill.
15. Dana Corriel: We can't really see the emotional toll that the outbreak has on us.
16. Nikki Stamp: The effect that this is all having on our mental health and well-being.
17. Jack Turban: Mental health problems don't stop just because we have an infectious-disease pandemic.
18. Ira Breite: I've had patients who haven't been able to get cancer surgery, who've had significant heart problems and not been able to get them worked up.
19. Bernard EKG: If people who now feel sick from cancer are now discouraged from going to hospitals because all the attention now is on COVID-19, then we're going to miss some of those patients.
20. Austin Chiang: Right now, we're postponing all the non-urgent cases and when things are lifted we're going to see everyone come back all at once.
21. Arghavan Salles: How is one supposed to date in this point in time? Are we just supposed to get to know people by Zoom and FaceTime?
Mikhail Varshavski: Yeah, virtual dating is a thing now. For my next question, I asked, what does it mean for you to be a doctor now?
22. Danielle Jones: It means a 30-minute decontamination routine before I get to hug my kids every time I come home from the hospital.
23. Jason Campbell: Practicing medicine during this pandemic means what it always means, protecting the vulnerable.
24. Gary Leroy: This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to boldly fulfill my oath and desire to save lives.
25. Mark Shapiro: The COVID-19 pandemic has me in a place where I have never felt more connected to my profession.
26. Nita Landry: I have an opportunity to step up and really honor my oath.
27. David Epstein: I really feel like it's a privilege for me to be able to practice medicine during the pandemic. It allows me to serve my community when my community needs me most.
28. Robert Wachter: I'm old enough to have lived through the early years of the AIDS epidemic and it had a similar feeling. You knew you were in the middle of something incredibly important.
29. Krystal Jenkins: My mother gave me a magnet a long time ago that said, "Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them wear stethoscopes."
30. Darria Long: I'm not running away from it. I'm running toward it.
31. Dela Taghipour: We're ready. We signed up for this. We took an oath.
6. Jen Gunter: It's a privilege to be a part of the solution.
32. Andrew Evens: It's an honor to care for patients and their families and to help navigate them through these very challenging times.
33. Maria Tempera: Medicine is a calling and a vocation. I've never viewed it as a job.
34. David Stukus: This isn't a job. This is a calling.
Mikhail Varshavski: I couldn't agree more. Next I asked, how have you been personally affected by the coronavirus?
35. Karen Sibert: When we put a breathing tube in for a patient, which we have to do for almost every surgery, we're really exposed to everything that's in that patient's mouth or throat or airway. It's like looking down the barrel of a gun.
36. Eric Strong: I'll be moving out of our house soon and into some place that's closer to the hospital and where I won't risk infecting my own family.
37. Alexandra Anderson: Should I move out or should I isolate within the home?
38. Jessica Andrade: I haven't seen my mom or my dad or any family members in the last few weeks.
39. Dhaval Bhanusali: I have some sick family members. I don't know when I'll see them next.
40. Sean Ochsenbein: I wasn't able to kiss my wife on our anniversary this year because of coronavirus.
41. Tommy Martin: My beautiful wife and I are about to bring new life into this world. With that comes fear, worry, and anxiety.
42. Leonard Calabrese: Both of my daughters work with me here at the Cleveland Clinic. I'm worried for the family, but we're going to do this.
43. Angelo Leto Barone: My entire family lives and practices a self-care survival simile. When I read in the news that 2,027 physicians, as of yesterday, have contracted the virus and many have died from it, it gave me chills.
44. Rohin Francis: I recently got sick with a lot of the features of COVID-19. Without testing, I've got no way of knowing if I had it for sure. I don't know if I'll be infected again. I don't know if I'm going to infect my patients.
45. Jake Deutsch: I did get corona. I was actually sick for 2 weeks, had pneumonia, and it was probably the worst health experience that I have ever been through.
46. Mariam Zakhary: I developed a fever and a lot of the COVID symptoms. When I ended up in the emergency room, all I could think about was when I recover, will this make me immune so I can get back out there?
47. Rakhee Bhaynai: For the first time ever, lately, I've been having the sense of uneasiness as I drive into work.
48. Michelle Romeo: I've personally seen a lot of death that I don't know if residency could ever prepare you for.
49. Dilshad Atwal: Because our pain clinics closed down last week, and before I'll be transitioning to telemedicine soon, there's still a gap where I will be unemployed as a pain management fellow and that leaves me financially unstable.
50. Pamela Mehta: I'm still paying rent, overhead, staff, supplies, all of the above with basically no income.
51. Rupa Wong: I'm a physician on O'ahu, and it's challenging caring for my neighbor island patients on Maui and the Big island.
52. Erin Treemarcki: Hydroxychloroquine has been getting a lot of press during this pandemic and the availability of this medication has been a big concern for myself and for my patients.
53. Hafiza Khan: I've been forced to delay important heartbeat and heart rhythm procedures for several of my patients.
54. Ali Mattu: I lost childcare, so my toddler keeps barging into all of my appointments, and that's probably a HIPAA violation.
Mikhail Varshavski: Hey, I can relate. Bear walks into some of my patient visits too. Next I asked, how can we help from home?
55. Daniel E. Choi: Believe it or not, not everyone is taking social distancing seriously.
56. Ed Hope: The virus doesn't spread on its own. People spread the virus, so you are on the front line in this pandemic.
57. David Hindin: Even small indulgences, like going to a park around other people, can have huge consequences that you don't even feel in the moment.
58. Sean Mackey: Treat every outside contact as something potentially infected, no matter how healthy or safe someone or something looks.
59. Shari Marchbein: This thing does not care what you look like, how much money you have, or how wealthy you are, so you have to stay home.
60. Janice Baker: No cheating. I know it gets really boring at home sometimes and all you want to do is just be with your friend just for a minute. But please, for our sake, stay home.
61. Tori Jaeger: Stay home. That's how you fight the virus.
62. Alok Patel: Get comfortable and stay there. Netflix and chill. YouTube and thrill.
63. Subha Airan-Javia: Please, please, please stay home. Help us help you.
64. Ken Milne: Help me help you.
65. Luis A. Espina: Stay hydrated, get some sleep, eat healthy, don't smoke, and please do some exercise while you're at home.
66. Alex McDonald: Here's my prescription for you. Stay home.
33. Andrew Evens: We are not stuck at home. We are safe at home.
8. Sandra Lee: Safe at home, not stuck at home. And please treat everyone with kindness.
67. Thomas Berk: Everyone knows someone who is putting their life at risk by working during these difficult times. Just send them a thank you.
68. Donald Pettet: Continue sending positive vibes and continue reaching out to those who are in their support system. We need their help.
69. Blaire Germain: And just be kind to each other. Everyone's having a hard time.
70. Pavlos Msaouel: Physical distancing is crucial, but it should not cause social isolation.
71. Justin Dubin: Call or FaceTime your friends, your family, your significant others.
72. Leslie Kim: The virus mainly infects through mucus membranes of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Even if we wear gloves and we wear masks, if we touch our face, we can still get infected.
73. Rose Marie Leslie: Washing your hands and no, I'm not just talking like, "Oh, wash, wash, wash, and you're done." I'm talking a full 20 seconds.
74. Jodi Mindell: Wash your hands.
75. Cedric "Jamie" Rutland: Wash your hands multiple times throughout the day.
76. Joshua Davis: Really diligent hand washing.
77. Siobhan Deshauer: Wash your hands.
78. Kimberly Blumenthal: And as I say to my five-year-old, "Don't pick your nose."
79. Matthew Skolbar: Be wary of the browsers and the pickers at the grocery store. You know what I'm talking about, those people that are picking up avocados and putting them right back.
6. Jen Gunter: By being very careful of your internet hygiene because spreading false information can be deadly.
80. Stefan Peterson: Everyone has a role to play in making sure that we spread correct information.
81. Spencer Nadolsky: Stop spreading misinformation on social media. I think this is very important.
82. Rishi Kumar: Just following credible media outlets. Don't give in to the hysteria.
83. Gabe Charbonneau: The top thing on my mind is remembering to stay flexible and lean into uncertainty.
84. Kledia Bloshmi: Have those difficult end-of-life discussions. You will feel at peace knowing your loved one's wishes, whether the time comes tomorrow or a decade from now.
85. Christina Johns: Ask neighbors to put up a red piece of paper in their window if they need assistance immediately. A yellow piece means I need help, but not urgently. Green means things are okay.
86. Jessi Gold: And please know that when the scientists are saying these things, we're not saying them because we're out to get you. We're saying them because we care about you.
Mikhail Varshavski: That's right. We're on Team You. All right, my final question is what gives you hope?
87. Sanjay Juneja: It gives me goosebumps when I think about what you see around you.
88. Cornelia Griggs: The doctors, nurses, social workers, respiratory therapists, environmental services.
89. Deepa Sharma: Each and every one of us is doing what we can.
90. Todd Rice: It's the fact that I have a great ICU team. I have the best ICU nurses in the world.
91. Amalina Bakri: The unity, the compassion, and empathy.
92. Shaliz Pourkaviani: Humanity exists and we're all in this together.
93. Andrea Tooley: I live in New York City, and every night at 7:00, the entire city breaks out in cheer and applause for all the healthcare workers.
94. Tanya Altmann: I'm hearing from families who are having more family meals and more family meetings. They're playing board games. They're communicating. They're talking.
95. Nicole Washington: People are coming together and they are helping out their neighbors.
40. Sean Ochsenbein: Letters like this in my mailbox from my neighbor, spreading love across this country.
96. Natalie Crawford: Every patient that I called, the first thing they asked is how was I doing.
97. Kristina Braly: The outpouring of love and support from communities all around the world, showing their support for healthcare workers, like me, on the frontline.
98. Esther Choo: All of our frontline workers, in hundreds of roles, inside the hospital and outside of it, working their tails off every single day.
82. Rishi Kumar: My trainees all stepping up to volunteer to help in the ICU.
99. Dana Brems: Healthcare professionals everywhere are stepping up instead of backing down.
100. Alexis Cates: The emergency department staff now more than ever.
101. Shamit Desai: We've put aside all turf wars and inter-departmental bickering.
102. Magnolia Printz: The fact that the world has set aside its differences to work on novel treatments, vaccines, and drugs for this virus.
103. Ryan Marino: The people donating and making supplies.
77. Siobhan Deshauer: Like when we see businesses that stop their work and start producing equipment for healthcare providers.
104. Stacy Loeb: Even famous fashion designers, like Chanel and Christian Siriano, are making masks and gowns.
105. Anne McTiernan: The numbers are getting better. Prevention does work.
11. Mona Amin: Seeing people on their balconies applauding those on the front line gives me hope. And seeing science working, creating vaccines, creating treatments is what gives me hope.
106. Justin Shafa: I'm fighting for the hope that one day, very soon, we overcome this, that we get back to normal life and don't take the small things for granted again.
Mikhail Varshavski: And you know what gives me hope? The fact that I was able to get over 100 of my physician colleagues to make this video for you. I usually sign off my videos by saying stay happy and healthy. But for this one, let's do something different. Stay alert, not anxious.
Everyone: Alert, not anxious. Alert, not anxious. Alert, not anxious.
, (better known on social media as "Doctor Mike") is a board-certified family medicine physician at the Atlantic Health System's Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey. His educates over 3 million subscribers with two weekly shows covering everything from trending medical stories and health myths to reaction videos critiquing popular medical TV dramas. His goal is to expose medical misinformation and increase health literacy for a previously untapped audience of young adults.