As of today, 2/3 of the interns and students I supervise in a close research capacity (n=9) have either had COVID-19 themselves or an immediately family member has been ill with it, including one intubation (& thankfully, successful extubation.) Shared with their permission.

I share this because I still see a lot of people on here haven't experienced that level of direct community impact. And those who know me know how important the concept of community is within my research team cohorts, so it really is the level of impact: work, yes, but more than

In addition to the coordination of logistics to ensure stability, support &care through their affiliated universities & programs, which is critical, urgent & no one is prepared for it at this scale, there is the intense fear for your team from afar. It is a lot for all/any of us

I am putting this out there with consent so that if anyone else is feeling swamped in how to handle this, I will offer whatever support I can in how u have struggled to manage getting each of my team members what they needed.

Many people haven't experienced this ratio of direct impact from COVID in their student/research yet & I hope they never will.
Statistically, I fear I've merely encountered this scale of need earlier than others may. I want to offer anything I can, if that is the case

There is very little generalizable advice. Each of my research team members is primarily affiliated w different institutions, so pathways we have had to navigate to get them help or support they've needed has varied in each case, which is why I felt I might specifically useful

I'm so grateful & relieved beyond words that everyone is, at this point, recovering steadily. We had a terrifying close call in the case of a family member. Just remember to find out what you & your/their institution can offer asap, esp $. Ask what they need, but more than that..

Don't wait for them to articulate their specific needs in a crisis. Make sure they know they don't need to stress about any work obligations at all, offer to contact others for them at whatever degree of disclosure they determine & offer anything you can before they have to ask.

Those are the big principles I have tried to hold through while navigating this. I hope this is info no one reading this ever needs, but if you do, I hope you are able to feel a little less bewildered and more empowered to support your team in the moment than I was at first.

This is a really impossible thread to write finally, fyi. I am essentially desperate to help anyone feel less drowned in emergency bureaucracy when trying to remotely support people they advise/manage in research capacities because
I don't want anyone else to feel like this.

It might read oddly upbeat & optimistic amid dire circumstances & if it does, that is a function of having no idea how to write this particular thread. I have been having a tremendous amount of difficulty sleeping, especially during the more severe cases impacting my small team.

It is that navigating this, from the personal to the professional to the institutional has often been abjectly terrifying, confusing and isolating on all sides, and I am trying to fight that bureaucratic isolation & confusion as much as possible, because it is a dark place to be

That is, I guess what this thread is. To let you know that if you are in that particular darkness now or later, I am there, too. I'll try to help however I can, but at the very least, you can tell me you are in that dark confused place & I will hold it with you as best I can.