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.

Adversity does not build character ... it reveals it.

In the heat of the pandemic, physicians, nurses and all front line staff have revealed their character

• • In the face of complete chaos and overwhelm, you have doubled your efforts to make a difference. Day after day you run back into the battle - even when people call COVID a hoax and accuse you of lying just to make more money. 
    
    
  • In some cases you have made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of your patients: the current COVID death count of US Healthcare workers stands at 3607 and some have taken their own life in the depths of despair over not being able to do more.

Adversity also reveals the character of your leaders, administrators and managers too.

These are the people who create the systems and culture of your workforce. Put them under stress and their character is revealed just as clearly as yours.  

QUESTION:
How are your leaders doing these days?

The business mantra about the pandemic goes like this:
COVID didn't change anything, it just dramatically accelerated what was already going to happen.

An example from healthcare is virtual/digital doctor visits. They were always going to become more common/popular. COVID birthed a whole new virtual medicine function and drove 5 years worth of innovation in organizations nation-wide ... in just 60 days. 

New Survey shows patients can see, feel and empathize with the obvious burnout in their caregivers.

You know the elephant in the room, right?

Something shameful, dark, inconsistent, embarrassing, even damaging -- something everyone knows is everywhere all the time and we all secretly agree never to point it out or talk about it.

The first rule of burnout is to never talk about burnout (amongst ourselves).

What about the patients and their family members? They are not sworn to our code of silence.

All the same, when the Elephant in the Room is Physician Burnout - we REALLY don't want the patients or their family members to notice or speak of it either.

Is it possible to effectively hide stress, fatigue, overwhelm and burnout from our patients?