This timeless wisdom from The House of God was quoted to me by a resident on my first ER rotation

I think it applies to the news in all the headlines about the new OMICRON Variant of the COVID-19 virus.

It is 11/28/2021 as I write this. Omicron and the travel and nation-level shutdowns it immediately inspired, have dominated headlines across the world for the last 48 hours. We thought we had Delta in the rear view mirror and now this.

Hang on a second. What is that first step again?

"the worst U.S. health-care labor crisis in memory"

The Healthcare Staffing Crisis Hit the Front Page at Bloomberg this week.

Here in what we hope are the waning days of the Delta Surge in COVID, there is so much physician stress, burnout and pessimism in the USA.

We talk with hundreds of physicians and physician leaders each week. Starting about a month ago ... despair, true fear about the future of your practice and a clear deer in the headlights quality started to color these conversations - for obvious reasons.

What could be worse than COVID 19 Wave Four in a State with a 41% vaccination rate?

How about a Cat 4 Hurricane slapped right across your face at the very same time.

My biggest fear is that this one-two punch will destroy the healthcare delivery system in New Orleans, the state of Louisiana and any other state in IDA's path.

The buildings may remain standing, my concern is the will of the people in the front lines.

Are recent decreases in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths just the eye of the pandemic hurricane or can we really see the end of this long, dark tunnel?

We are in a race with the virus' natural ability to mutate. Is this recent lull in the action a sign the end is near or just a brief respite and the worst is yet to come?

The primary risk to all Lightworkers is built into our first Prime Directive.

Healthcare's Prime Directive #1:

The patient comes first

In this blog post:

• Let me show you the nature of this fundamental risk
• The toll it takes on all healthcare workers
• An image that captures this dynamic in a way you won't forget
• And a tool to recharge we have proven effective in our physician coaching practice.

I saw this lobby sign for a hospital in Indiana this week on LinkedIn and had to share it with you.

In these divisive and politicized times, all of us coping with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, this language and sentiment seemed to cut straight to the point.

This is a place of healing and, if healing is not possible, a space where we all deal with disease, suffering, death and dying.

Please be intentional with your energy. 

This sign feels like a little cosmic mirror at the front door of the hospital. Take a quick look in the mirror and make sure your attitude is adjusted before you walk into this sacred space.

COVID-19 Stress and Physician Burnout - The Case Against Altruism

A recent article in the CMAJ exhorts doctors to "Emphasize the altruism of working in health care and serving of the greater good" in order to reconnect with purpose and make it through COVID-19.

I disagree and I am not alone. 

ALTRUISM and the HERO and SAINT PROJECTION onto healthcare workers in impossible working conditions, is dangerous and self defeating.

In this blog post let's examine the case against Altruism as a healthy core value in pandemic times.