“Frontline medical professionals must collectively share what they experienced as a whole. We must piece together these narratives and unearth commonalities to truly know what happened. Just as we must continue rigorous quantitative research on the virus itself, we must also conduct a qualitative examination. In the peri-COVID era, it will be critical to cultivate lasting empathy for the frontline and process the collective trauma that has likewise claimed lives as the virus itself. Only by establishing widespread, lasting awareness will empathy-driven solutions arise and will continued behavior change (e.g., social distancing, wearing face coverings) persist. The act of storytelling comes with the added bolstering of mental health; it is a means of coming to terms with a challenging and rapidly changing work environment being directly in harm’s way with inadequate protective — both physical and psychological — equipment.”

Vibhu Krishna is a medical student.

She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, “The mental health benefits of sharing stories.”

This episode is sponsored by Elsevier Health. Looking to update your personal or professional medical library? Shop Elsevier Health’s Holiday Sale and save up to 35% on your purchase of medical books! Plus, you can take an extra 5% off your order with code KEVINMD at checkout. Take advantage of the biggest sale of the year from Elsevier, the world-leading provider of medical books and reference materials. Shop us.elsevierhealth.com now through December 31.

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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.