"When Corona Comes Knocking" is a small poem written by Kaplan – a doctor from New Orleans "Now death is our greeter as we walk into work ... sometimes we see it walk in the door, other times it is wheeled in". This is a poem that currently resonates with every healthcare worker out there in the whole world. 

 The frontline doctors, nurses and the hospital staff are trying to save COVID patients walking in or being brought in on wheelchairs. They jump straight into the situation with the first-hand trauma, where they are at a higher risk of getting infected themselves. And all the healthcare staff is suffering from second-hand trauma, which creeps in while treating the patients, investing their time, knowledge and strength in them. 

The patients come to the hospital with a huge emotional baggage, feeling that they are going to die—the paranoia around this disease is such. This baggage sometimes makes the patient lose hope and this in itself is a hindrance in curing the patient. They complaint, cry and beg the doctor treating them; they put all their hopes in that doctor; if cured the doctor becomes an angel for them or an enemy if the patient passes on.

These extreme reactions and expectations from the patient plays havoc with the doctor’s mind. At one point while he is elated at sending off a patient back home well and cured, the next moment, he might be trying to save a patient on ventilator and losing the battle. This continuous roller coaster of high and low feelings starts to disturb the emotional equilibrium of the doctor.

Also, the misery of seeing a family losing a family member and pinning all their hopes on you becomes too much to bear for the treating doctor. He not  only has to treat the patient physically, but also constantly assure  the patient that all will be fine and in extreme cases be a counsellor for the family of the patient. Repeatedly he has to tell the family that all will be fine, sometimes even resort to lying to get them off his back, or scolding them for constant badgering—neither a positive emotion to imbibe. 

Moreover, witnessing a patient’s death and delivering the news to their grieving families is the lowest point the healthcare professionals have accepted to do as a part of their job and it is taking up a huge toll on their mental health. 

The emotional crisis is on a rise among healthcare professionals. And the emotional crisis first aid is really important to focus on before the doctors and nurses start feeling worthless and experience higher rates of burnouts and depression while working on the ‘next patient’ without an outlet for the negative emotions.