In academic medicine, and especially in ID, we pay great attention to evidence-based practices. And rightfully so, instituting treatments and procedures that are supported by data improves the practice of medicine and the quality of life for patients. Sometimes absent from this data are the stories behind it, and the personal interactions that define what it means to be an ID professional.
Providing a space for these stories is the purpose of a recurring section in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. According to the journal, these articles feature narrative stories from members of the infectious diseases community that focus on how a career in ID affects the provider. The goal is for Voices of ID to highlight personal stories told in authors’ personal voices in order to help the ID community process the impacts of COVID-19, and life in medicine in general. The journal explains, “These moving accounts provide a mosaic of the different ways we experienced the pandemic and remind us why so many of us have made a home within the ID community—a group full of thoughtful and brilliant people who are passionate about making this world a better place“. Notably, our own Dr. Sara Bares is the assistant editor of this collection.
Today, we want to feature the work of Nikki Regan who recently authored an article in this collection entitled “Just Breathe: My First 12 Hours as a Clinician Patient With COVID-19“. In it, she explores the very human side of contracting COVID-19, complete with the anxieties and responsibilities that come with being an ID medical professional afflicted with COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic. It is a personal narrative with themes and experiences that will resonate with the experiences of many healthcare professionals, as we try to come to grips with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic.
You can read “Just Breathe: My First 12 Hours as a Clinician Patient With COVID-19” at this link, and check out the entire Voices of ID collection here.