Just before entering the COVID-19 ward, Gaurav Jain double checks his personal protective equipment (PPE) — the mask is set, check. The gloves are in place, check. The face shield is intact, check.
“Of course at some level we are scared too,” said Dr. Jain, a second-year junior resident of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Sri Aurobindo Medical College and Postgraduate Institute, Indore, one of the COVID-19 hospitals treating 125 patients. “Doctors may run out of equipment, but we are never going to run out of love and compassion we are receiving from everyone now.”
When the stream of cases trickled in around March-end, the department’s doctors, including junior residents, were caught unawares. “We didn’t expect it. Many of us don’t have that kind of skill. We are learning every day,” said Dr. Jain, who belongs to Gwalior district. He felt insecure: “We didn’t know how to handle it. ”
The junior most resident, Jyoti Jaiswal, 26, was thrilled to take on a greater responsibility of being at the frontline. “Seniors have my back. They’ve said if I have doubts during night duty, when there are no consultants, I could call them any time,” said Dr. Jaiswal.
Eventually, as different departments of the hospital teamed up and divided responsibilities, it eased some pressure. Others can screen patients, start treatment based on the protocol and check oxygen levels.
“Whereas we can guide treatment. Even miniscule contributions count. It's teamwork after all. Not all soldiers carry weapons, some carry stethoscope,” said Dr. Jain.
“Dealing with COVID-19 has brought back the nobility of the profession which was clouded in professionalism. It has given back the profession its lost charm. We are getting to fulfil our dream of serving humanity,” said Ravi Dosi, 39, who heads the department, and is faced with an employee refusing to return to hospital fearing infection these days.
‘Scared for our families’
Dr. Dosi admitted not a single day went by when he wasn’t scared, but not for himself. “We are more scared for our families. At times, you see patients pass away on ventilators in seconds and have nightmares of the same happening to you. How devastating it will be for our families. But we have to remain optimistic.”
Although his wife, a pathologist, works at the hospital, he can only wave at her from a distance each day in the corridor. “I have not been home for more than two weeks. And my son, who slept next to me each day, tells me he can’t sleep properly now,” said Dr. Dosi, living on the campus now.
He told the son, five, the coronavirus was a cold which could go to the lungs. Anticipating a return soon, he promised to take him to movies and buy video games. “He is handling it in a much better way than I had expected. He hasn’t cried at all,” said Dr. Dosi.
"Family bonds are the beauty and the curse of this disease," he said. "The disease affects the lungs very quickly and in a harsh there. This disease doesn’t prolong the suffering, it attacks in a few days."
Initially, Dr. Jaiwal’s father asked her to return home, but she refused. “This is my only chance to serve,” she said. And the grandmother and parents of Dr. Jain call him at least four times each day. “They are scared and proud at the same time,” he said.
After a 12-hour duty during the day or overnight, the junior residents quarantine themselves for at least 48 hours. Returning from duty, Dr. Jain bathes himself and washes clothes with a disinfectant solution.
At the dining hall with a separate section for COVID-19 doctors, he eats plenty each morning, while preparing for the long haul. “As doctors we need to keep our immunity strong,” he said. On Thursday, Dr. Jaiswal didn’t touch a meal or water during her entire shift. "Taking a sip of water might expose us to the virus," she said.
“Keep yourself protected doctors! If we get infected, we don’t know how many we will infect. And who is going to treat others then,” said Dr. Jaiswal, who reads research papers on the disease during the quarantine period. “At least some positive news, of a declining rate or a successful clinical trial will bring hope.”
The weight of PPE kits is like the weight of responsibility doctors carry, believes Dr. Jain. But being the junior most, Dr. Jaiswal is exuberant about the anonymity the kits offer. “When we are in kits, they can’t make out if you a doctor, senior or junior, or nursing staff. When patients see a group wearing PPEs taking rounds, they make out that a senior doctor is coming,” she said.
Isolation is an unusual experience for asymptomatic patients, said Dr. Jaiswal. “Often, they don’t know what they are doing in the hospital. The best way to counsel them is to tell them how this will help protect their family back home from a possible infection,” she said.
And for entire families in wards, and the elderly who are asymptomatic, she tries to convince them - “Imagine, you’re on a holiday with your family. And you need not bother about anything. We will serve you everything.”
