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“We are in the midst of a crisis in humanity. While we are still dealing with COVID pandemic and its deleterious health, economic and societal consequences, our troubling past of racism and inequality is rearing its ugly head.
The senseless killings at the hands of police, the shameful subjugation of persons of color, the systemic prejudice of a person based upon gender, sexual orientation, or disability have placed us at a tipping point in society. We are vulnerable as a community, as a state, and as a nation. As I am writing this, I am disheartened, disillusioned, and spiritually broken.
Our children are witnesses and possibly victims of this inequity. So we as persons of all ways of life and ethnicity must do right for our current generation of highly impressionable minds. As I pen this ‘call to care,’ I ask you all to consider the following important actions.”
Nicolo Geralde is a neonatologist.
He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD articles, “We are in the midst of a crisis in humanity” and “A different perspective on PPE during the COVID-19 crisis.”
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Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from.
Transcript
Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show, where we share the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. My name is Kevin Pho, founder and editor of KevinMD. Today on the show, we have Nick Geralde. He’s a neonatologist, and he wrote the KevinMD articles “A different perspective on PPE during the COVID-19 crisis” and, most recently, “We are in the midst of a crisis in humanity.” We’ll get to those articles in a bit. But first off, Nick, welcome to the show.
Nicolo Geralde: Well, thank you so much, Kevin. I consider it an honor. I just wanted to put my part in, in terms of sending out a message, and I appreciate, one, you all posting it, and two, now this honor of talking to you on your podcast. I really appreciate it.
Kevin Pho: So can you share with my audience your story and your journey to where you are today?
Nicolo Geralde: Going way back, I was born in the Philippines, if I can go that far. I came here when I was three, and now, 50-plus years later, I’m practicing in El Paso, Texas. How I came about coming here to El Paso was I was formerly in the military. I bled Army green. I did my residency and fellowship in the San Antonio area. After I finished my 12 years of time, I had an opportunity to practice anywhere. I had a short stint in Odessa, San Antonio, but now, for the last 13 years, I’ve been here in El Paso, Texas.
Kevin Pho: So I don’t talk to very many neonatologists. How has the pandemic affected you and your practice?
Nicolo Geralde: Fortunately, it hasn’t had a significant impact. I’ve always felt we neonatologists are the subspecialists of subspecialists. We are jacks-of-all-trades. We take care of the majority of issues regarding our babies, and we’re insulated from the adult world. But it’s been impacted, as you all can imagine, through the pregnant mothers that come through that are either PUIs or, God forbid, are COVID-positive.
El Paso, being geographically separate from the rest of Texas, has been fortunate. We were a little slower in experiencing the impact, but right now we’re in the midst of our impact. And I think all the mitigating efforts we were able to initiate before it actually hit our geographic area have been helpful. But as most of you all are aware from the headlines, it’s not a second wave; it’s just a continuation of the infection, particularly in hotbed states, including my state of Texas.
Kevin Pho: So let’s get to your KevinMD article, the first one you wrote back in April, “A different perspective on PPE during the COVID-19 crisis.” And I want to start with an excerpt. You write, “These are unprecedented times we are facing, and there is a myriad of information and guidance we are asked to review and assimilate. This is not more information or guidance. Instead, it’s a message of hope to reduce the hysteria, fear, and worry we are all experiencing.” Share with my audience why you decided to write the article, and share more details about that.
Nicolo Geralde: At the time, a lot of the information was, I felt, hysteria-prompting. It was not intended to create hysteria, but hysteria was already beginning to set in. People were fearing the worst. There were people hoarding toilet paper, which was still very interesting. But I think the messages out there in the media were just, unfortunately, anxiety- and fear-provoking. Personal protective equipment was uppermost in people’s minds, whether in the health care setting or at home.
And so, with the help of my wife, I came up with a twist on PPE that I created, and I felt it was important. I initially intended to just distribute the message here to the local hospitals that I work at. It then expanded to the El Paso community. And then, since I had been subscribing to your email, I thought, well, what better forum than to share it with physicians and other providers that subscribe to that, and just to spread this message of hope and what we can do on an individual basis to protect ourselves.
Kevin Pho: And what’s this new twist on the acronym that you created?
Nicolo Geralde: Yes. The first P, it’s protect yourself. That’s where I ask those, particularly health care providers, and then extending to each individual person: We have to protect ourselves by doing the necessary things when we’re at work, wearing a mask, wearing gloves, all the typical standard things, but also being mindful that we have to protect ourselves from a physical and mental perspective. I’ve been very guilty, since COVID-19 has occurred, of course, it doesn’t help, my gym’s closed, that I haven’t been taking care of myself physically as well as mentally. So I know I have to subscribe to that recommendation each and every day, and I’m trying to do a better job of that.
The second P is to protect others. By doing what you can do to protect yourself, you’re preventing any potential exposure you have to others, and then helping either the patients you take care of, your neighbor, your family, and friends, with what you could do to give them, or just spreading this word of reassurance of what you can do to protect yourself.
And then the last E is for treating everyone with kindness, respect, and empathy, because we are all in this globally, and the crisis and the hysteria that resulted have resulted in significant behavior, crazy behavior of all sorts. And we still need to treat each other with basic respect. I’m a firm believer in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you want others to do unto you. And that was really the basic tenet of the E, of treating everyone with kindness and respect.
Kevin Pho: Now, you wrote this back in April, and you said that there was an environment of hysteria. We’re now talking in the third week of June. Has anything changed?
Nicolo Geralde: I believe it has. We have been, here locally and nationally, settling into this new normal. For the most part, people are still trying to protect themselves, protect others. But I can understand those who have felt this cabin fever of being locked down and having to protect themselves, wear masks at all times of the day, how they feel a sense of rebellion and want to just be free of those restrictions. But I’m hoping that because the restrictions have been in place, plus the majority of the people are doing the right thing, this new wave that we’re experiencing, or an extension of what was the first wave, and any subsequent waves will just be mitigated by people trying to do the right thing.
Kevin Pho: So you also wrote a more recent article, “We are in the midst of a crisis in humanity.” And of course, for the past few weeks, we have had nationwide protests against racial injustice, and your article, as you call it, is a “call to care.” Can you share with my audience a little bit more of the story behind that article and why you decided to write it?
Nicolo Geralde: Yes. I’m Filipino American, and unfortunately, I’ve been a victim of discrimination, prejudice, and, unfortunately, a couple of downright racist behaviors, despite the fact that I’ve been here for 50 years. I arrived here in 1969, shortly after the civil rights movement. Yes, the civil rights movement accomplished quite a bit, but it’s been apparent, unfortunately, with the George Floyd killings and the other senseless murders or killings of people of color in the last few months, and in the last few decades, that much hasn’t changed. There still is this underlying seed of discrimination and prejudice. And I agree with others who are calling this a health care crisis.
And as health care providers, we are still inundated with COVID-19. We’re inundated with trying to resuscitate our medical practices. We’re still inundated with everything of this new normal, plus our typical stresses of life. And so it seems intimidating how we as health care providers can make a difference in this issue of racism. And I just spent one night, till 1:00 in the morning, 2:00 in the morning, coming up with what I felt was a step-by-step approach we could take.
And I ask that those who have a chance to read it please look at it, and look step by step at the points I made. Suggestions of, please do it, see what you can do. At the very least, take step number one, which is to take a self-assessment of your own attitudes and behaviors towards other ethnicities, and see if there might be some behaviors that you may have not thought of as being prejudicial, and be mindful of it, and hopefully be rid of that in your own mind.
And then second, especially being a neonatologist and pediatrician, I know social media has a significant reach, well beyond adults. It also extends to children. And I have to admit, my wife and I have been very hesitant to talk about this issue with our daughter, our seven-year-old. I’m fortunate that I have three older kids also, 22, 20, and 18. I’ve been able to share that message with them. And particularly my son, my oldest, the 22-year-old, has been very involved in this. He was a former supporter of the Bernie campaign, and he’s just become very socially and politically aware, and he has helped me open my eyes about this. And we had a conversation leading up to my writing about what I could do, what little part I can do.
And so it starts off with this message. I have plans to talk with our local public health officials and see what I can do to help spearhead making this an initiative for our local government. And then I’m hoping others will follow, because racism is a shadow on our American history. There’s more we need to do, and it really starts with each individual person looking at themselves and seeing what they can do. And collectively, I hope it will make a difference, and more than that, an enduring difference, a difference that will last well after I’m gone.
Kevin Pho: Well, thank you for sharing that. For other minority physicians who may be the target of racism, what kind of advice or tips can you give them?
Nicolo Geralde: I just tell them that, unfortunately, it’s out there. We don’t accept it, of course, but keep in mind that you’ve accomplished a lot. You will not have one person take that away from you. Whether you’re a physician, nurse, or respiratory therapist, no matter what your field is, you have taken an oath of sorts that you are going to do the right thing for that patient. So set aside the discriminatory, prejudicial behavior. Treat the patient in front of you there, regardless of what that person’s personal beliefs are.
And then, really, if the opportunity presents itself, take a chance, take a moment to address that person’s beliefs. It’s not likely that you’re going to change anything, but at least make him or her aware that their beliefs are unfounded, to look at me as a person regardless of my color, and hope that that may strike a nerve in that person. But all we can do is just take care of the patient in front of us. Don’t let it deter us, and if anything, let it motivate us to make the submission of whatever form or fashion that you want to take it. But realize this is the health care crisis, and we can do our part.
Kevin Pho: Well, thank you so much for sharing your insight on the show. We have Nick Geralde. He’s a neonatologist. He wrote the KevinMD articles “We are in the midst of a crisis in humanity” and “A different perspective on PPE during the COVID-19 crisis.” Nick, my final question: What is your take-home message for the KevinMD audience?
Nicolo Geralde: I think I’ll back on the Golden Rule: Please do unto others as you want others to do unto you. Quoting Rodney King, way back in the LA riots, “Why can’t we all get along?” There isn’t a question in my mind that we can get along. We all have an objective to live life to its fullest. We have to shed any prejudicial or discriminatory belief that we might have. The person in front of you wants to do the right thing. If we all can share that same mindset, treat each other with dignity and respect, we can accomplish that goal. But it starts with us.
Kevin Pho: Nick, thank you so much for your time, and thank you for being on the show.
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