THREAD

1/ I have been spending most of the last 6 weeks working on population-level #covid19 response in my state.

But the days on the clinical wards are what really keep me true to the work at hand.

You have to know who you are fighting for to know what you are fighting for.

2/ Since the day I started my career as a doctor, I was struck by what really drove me back to work each day

You form a bond with your patients- & the fight you fight ends up being for those people.

You show up every day for them

That's the promise you make- the oath you take

2.5/ The stakes feel different when it is someone else's life on the line.

Someone who trusts you to do right by them- to show them compassion, to give them 110%, to treat them with kindness

These things might sound simple, but they can be easily forgotten in a fast-paced world

3/ I was struck today by stories of hope. I shared earlier an older #covid19 patient in their 90s coming off oxygen for the first time.

And a lady who told me how much her faith was carrying her through an otherwise terrifying experience.

Hope is a force that must carry us.

4/ I spoke w/ family members who were scared that they may not see their loved one again-- or if they did, it would be when they were intubated in an ICU

I spoke w/ #nurses who shared having to use one mask for an entire week.

But, they were there, doing the work, showing up.

5/ I told the cafeteria chef that I appreciated him being there, cooking food for all the staff. And he said back, "I appreciate you."

Camaraderie is powerful.

Knowing others believe in you, & you believe in them- that matters.

6/ And, I'm always the inspired by my fellow doctors- people I constantly learn from @BrighamWomens & many other institutions around Boston, NYC, LA and many other cities.

All the docs on the frontline that I know are fighting for one thing: their patients.

7/ That is what is at the heart of our work: human beings who we have the privilege of caring for.

The studies, the papers, the publications, the accolades, the TV interviews, the promotions, etc-- none of that matters as a *doctor* if it takes you too far from your patients.

8/ As we continue fighting #covid19, I urge everyone to stop & remember why you are fighting, and you are fighting for.

For that patient who is going to sleep tonight, afraid or unsure of what tomorrow will bring: know that we are going to show up for you, every day.