Hopelessness, helplessness and resilience: The importance of safeguarding our trainees' mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Extract from Article:

The build-up to our current “pandemic” state has felt like a long time coming. Social media, and various forms of news media, have made it near impossible to escape discussion of the oncoming storm heading for our National Health Service (NHS). Barely a waking hour passes in which a relative, colleague or friend does not wish to discuss the issue – “you're a doctor. What do you think?”

During this time, it is only natural that healthcare staff would enter a state of acute stress. As time passes, we have a duty, both to ourselves and to our colleagues, to reduce its chronicity and its insidious impacts on our own wellbeing as healthcare staff. If we do not look out for one another, then who will?

On a daily basis I now receive numerous text messages from friends and colleagues working as trainee doctors on the “front line” in our NHS hospitals around the United Kingdom. These messages express despair at the current situation – and also a sense of hopelessness, helplessness, and nervous anticipation at what may yet come to pass. With the permission of the senders, I will quote some of these messages throughout this editorial.
“I'm going to cry.”

“Every day I think about quitting and just leaving [the NHS].”

“At work. It's crazy. I just want to cry!”.....

The article is freely available at the link given.