A doctor’s diary from a pandemic: “To don and to doff”
“Here ye, here ye, a decree has gone out to all ye who hath ears, that thou shalt don and doff personal protective equipment with alacrity but not beforeth thou shalt have cleansed thy hands for a greatly long time whilst humming a jolly ditty for 20 seconds, lest thou besmirch thy garments and thy personhood with the dread pestilence”
March 21, 2020
Such is the state of affairs at the hospital. Healthcare workers have always worn protective equipment when dealing with germs and diseases and other nastiness, but we’ve taken it to a whole new level now. People around the hospital now throw around terms like PPE (personal protective equipment), don (to put on), and doff (to take off) like they are some new millennial-inspired texting shortcuts. We don and we doff like champs – but you may be surprised to learn that there is a right way and a wrong way to put on a gown. Turns out many of us need a bit of a refresher course, so at Hennepin Healthcare we have a pedal-to-the-metal education campaign in full force, headed up by our awesome in-house educational team (thanks, Chris, Steph, and Dr. Meghan!).
Every day during our COVID madness I find people who are contributing to keeping us prepared. Our donning and doffing educational plan involves a) posters around the hospital campus, b) high-quality training videos produced by our in-house team, and c) people roaming the halls to do real-time, in-person, and supportive education to all of us about how to put on (don) and take off (doff) our PPE.
Hand hygiene. Mask. Gowns. Gloves. Face shields. Who wipes down the doorknob. Who goes in the room. Who stands outside with a donning-doffing checklist to make sure we do it right. How to take the darn gown off (it isn’t as simple as you think!). This is what we talk about every day.
Some are born to doff, some achieve doffing, and some have doffing thrust upon them.
We even have a PPE Conservation Team who is tasked with safe-guarding our limited supply of protective gear. We struggle with the lack of adequate supplies. Our hospital carefully counts and controls how many masks we have left, how many gowns, how many gloves. Some of it is locked up in a secret location. And my friends, hospitals do not have enough for now.
So we have all become expert donners and doffers (OK, are those really words?) at the hospital. Doing our best to stay safe all while conserving what we have. Yup.
It isn’t for lack of trying, or lack of willingness to buy more gear. Supplies are just not available in our country in the amounts we need them. We should all take a collective sigh at that fact. And then we should all insist of our national leaders that they correct that. Masks are not rocket science. We can do this.
To don or not to don, that is the question.
Actually, there is no question. We don. We doff.
OK, I actually wrote a post about the exciting world of putting on gowns. If you made it this far, thanks!
In the end, I believe this pandemic will make our communities stronger. Check back often for more of my random thoughts from a hospital in the midst of a pandemic. Subscribe by e-mail to get notifications if you wish.
David
A doctor’s diary from a pandemic: “This too shall pass”
Hi, friends –
Today I am starting a new regular feature on healthymatters.org. I, like you, have found life turned upside-down as we collectively struggle through the COVID-19 pandemic. In my role as a physician in a safety-net hospital, it has consumed my time as well as the mental and emotional energy of all 6,000 Hennepin Healthcare employees.
I offer this series, “A doctor’s diary from a pandemic” to you for some perspectives from inside a US healthcare system. This will not be a data-packed feature (go to cdc.gov for reliable COVID-19 information). Rather, it will be my barely-edited reflections in real-time. Hopefully you will find it informational, perhaps a source of solace, or at least mildly amusing. Read on and look for posts nearly daily.
David
March 19, 2020: “This too shall pass”
A pic from pre-COVID days
Today at the hospital we are struggling to reassure our numerous health care staff about their own safety. One Emergency Department nurse talks about her daily fears for the health and well-being not only of her patients, but of her co-workers. I take strength every day from our nurses in the best of times, so to see these heroes of medicine struggling with their own fears is tough. We want to hug one another but we can’t – gotta keep 6 feet apart – so instead we give each other support across the distance with our eyes.
And yet I am amazed at my colleagues. Food service workers are making “grab-and-go” food in the cafeteria. I saw a nurse put her own nerves aside to reassure a scared patient today. A surgeon stopped me in the hall while grappling with how to repair a fractured hip in a patient with a fever. Incredible IT people are ensuring that hundreds of people can productively work at home and have made virtual meetings a reality across our computer networks. Infection prevention people keep us informed and safe. Finance people keep the whole thing afloat.
We are prepared and we will be OK as a community. Of that I am sure. As a courageous hospitalist physician leader said to me today: “We got this!” To healthcare workers across the globe: thank you.
I am fond of the familiar Persian saying, “This too shall pass.” And it certainly will.
David
COVID-19: What it’s all about?
On our Sunday, March 8 show Dr. Caitlin Eccles-Radtke joined us for a conversation about COVID-19. She’s an infectious disease and infection prevention specialist at Hennepin Healthcare. You can listen to the entire show via podcast using this link: https://wccoradio.radio.com/media/audio-channel/healthy-matters-3-8-20
David Hilden, MD:
I have Dr. Caitlin Eccles-Radtke in the studio in Minneapolis. Dr. Eccles-Radtke is an infectious disease expert and has been helping lead our COVID-19 efforts at Hennepin Healthcare. So Caitlin, thank you for being on the show and welcome.
Caitlin Eccles-Radtke, MD:
Thanks for having me, Dave. read more…
