Shah Kaushal, Chaudhari Gaurav, Kamrai Dhwani, Lail Amindeep, Patel Rikinkumar S
Psychiatry, Griffin Memorial Hospital, Norman, USA.
Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA.
Cureus. 2020 Apr 4;12(4):e7538. doi: 10.7759/cureus.7538.
An infection of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that originated from Wuhan city of China in December 2019 converted rapidly into pandemic by March 11, 2020. To date, the number of confirmed cases and deaths has risen exponentially in more than 200 countries, with an estimated crude mortality ratio of at least over 2%. The unpreparedness to tackle the unprecedented situation of coronavirus has contributed to the rising number of cases, which has generated an immense sense of fear and anxiety amongst the public. It has further resulted in the inadequacy and unavailability of essential medical supplies, physicians, and healthcare workers (HCW). Although the chief focus is on minimizing transmission through prevention, combating infection, and saving lives by ramping up the development of treatment and vaccines, very little attention is on the critical issue of physician burnout, resident burnout, and the psychological well-being of HCW. Until now, no significant steps have been taken by the authorities to minimize the COVID-19 specific contributing factors for burnout. The COVID-19 has posed strain on the entire healthcare system already, and it is vital to remediate the issue of physician and resident burnout urgently with concrete actions to avoid subsequent potential short-term and long-term adverse implications.
2019年12月起源于中国武汉市的新型冠状病毒(COVID-19)感染,到2020年3月11日迅速演变成全球大流行。迄今为止,200多个国家的确诊病例和死亡人数呈指数级上升,估计粗死亡率至少超过2%。应对冠状病毒这一前所未有的情况时毫无准备,导致病例数量不断增加,在公众中引发了巨大的恐惧和焦虑感。这进而导致基本医疗用品、医生和医护人员短缺且难以获得。尽管主要重点是通过预防来尽量减少传播、抗击感染并通过加快治疗和疫苗研发来拯救生命,但对医生职业倦怠、住院医生职业倦怠以及医护人员心理健康这一关键问题却很少关注。到目前为止,当局尚未采取重大措施来尽量减少导致职业倦怠的COVID-19特定因素。COVID-19已经给整个医疗系统带来了压力,迫切需要采取具体行动来解决医生和住院医生职业倦怠问题,以避免随后可能出现的短期和长期不利影响。