Since I haven't posted in a while, and there's a global pandemic...

The global pandemic has now gone on for months. Things aren't looking up here in Arizona. Things are the worst that they have ever been. We are flooded with COVID-19; we are America's newest epicenter. Our hospitals are near capacity and more people are falling sick each day - but by now, I think all of you know that.

Being a resident doctor in training during this pandemic is quite unique. To be honest, it's a pretty weird time to learn how to be a doctor. We feel lost; we feel afraid, we feel isolated; but we still feel determined to take excellent care of our patients and our communities. It is inherent within us. With that being said, this pandemic is wearing on us. No matter the medical specialty, COVID-19 is now a part of our everyday lives in health care. Nearly one-half of the patients that we are taking care of in my obstetrics and gynecology residency is infected with SARS-CoV-2. We have pregnant patients being admitted with symptomatic COVID-19, some requiring ICU level care. Other patients aren't getting the surgeries they have needed for months - either because they too have tested positive for the virus, or because their elective hysterectomy has been put on hold to allocate resources toward the care of acutely ill patients.

Our patients are our number one priority. They always have been and they always will be. As a physician, I took an oath to prevent disease wherever I can; to protect the health of my community - to remember that there is an art to medicine, as well as a science. The existing science supports the fact that this disease is spreading and there are real measures that we can all take to prevent further spread.

I am trying to understand - in any capacity - why some Americans are refusing to wear a mask in public and to socially distance. I cannot understand. Whether or not you believe in or understand the science, wearing a mask has the potential to protect you and to protect your community members. In a non-pandemic world, I wear a mask every day to protect my patients while I am operating. Now, I wear one 80 hours a week while I am in the hospital to protect myself and the employees and patients that I spend my days alongside. If that is one small action I can take to protect the lives of others, why wouldn't I? Hypothetically speaking - if the mask didn't work (it does), it hasn't cost me anything. What will it take for the Americans who refuse to wear a mask to take this seriously and look out for their fellow human beings? If you can't breathe in your mask - try a different material or a different fit. If you think it is an infringement on your constitutional rights - I hope you seriously take a step back and reflect on what that statement means - let alone what is happening to the black, LGBTQ, minority groups, and women in today's society. I think that a 6 inch piece of cloth on your face is a pretty small contribution that has the ability to help a lot of people. Now is not the time to pick each other apart, it is the time to support one another, regardless of your health status, your lifestyle, or your comorbidities.

I hope that there is one person that you can think of in your life that you would hope to protect from the virus. A child? A wife? Maybe a health care provider? The fact that the doctor's of tomorrow aren't getting the training that they need/want because they're too busy taking care of COVID-19 patients? The fact that your newly pregnant wife may be walking into a clinic for her new OB appointment and could be surrounded by COVID-positive patients (or doctors)? Let alone the potential of being 24 weeks pregnant and on a ventilator with lines and tubes in every orifice.

And if you still think the virus is a hoax and our numbers are only the result of increased testing - I encourage you to sit down and have a conversation with anyone you know that works in a hospital. We are not seeing just an increase in asymptomatic patients with positive tests. We are seeing an increase in sick patients who test positive for COVID-19. If it isn't happening where you live now, it might soon. And just because it isn't your everyday life, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. As a health care worker, I don't want to be called a hero. I don't want a free lunch. And I don't want 50 % off a pair of shoes. I want my community, my friends, my fellow human beings - to give a damn enough about one another to wear a mask and socially distance, and to listen to those most invested in the health of the American people.