Frontline clinicians have become society’s line of defence against a raging pandemic. Their stories reflect the uncertainty faced on a daily basis and are witness to their courageous acts first-hand. While research to understand the virus and curtail the disease is readily available, there is sparse information on the emotional hardship medical practitioners have to face.
Prof. Victor Grech and I have thus conducted a small study to provide a better understanding of the experiences of doctors practising medicine during the pandemic, with the focus on Malta and on Maltese doctors currently working abroad.
Messages were solicited from those who wished to share their experiences, and were posted, after the authors’ permission, on a COVID-19 website. On analysis, four major themes emerged: initial reaction, hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the new normal, and personal adjustments.