CHICAGO (WLS) The COVID-19 pandemic meant some first year healthcare workers had to make a specialty switch in a hurry.
Dr. Benjamin Johnson began his medical career at Swedish Covenant Hospital as an attending general surgeon on March 1, just days before the coronavirus hit. He immediately switched gears and volunteered to work in the ICU. I had training in that field and felt my risk was not as high for physicians qualified for that, he said.
But there wasn t any medical school training that prepared Johnson for treating COVID patients. It was the first time, as a doctor, I knew people were not going to make it and that was really tough, unable to have a good plan, especially talking to families, said Johnson.