Voices of ID
The Voices of ID section of CID features narrative stories from members of the infectious diseases community, focused on how the authors’ work in ID impacts their life, their family, and their friends. Voices of ID highlights personal stories told in authors’ personal voices. Learn more about how to submit for “Voices of ID” here.
The Voices of ID section launched in 2023 with a special collection intended to help the ID community process the impacts of COVID-19. The CID editors sought out narratives from a wide range of contributors, including trainees and senior professionals, academics and private practice providers, clinicians, and researchers. These moving accounts provided a mosaic of the different ways we experienced the pandemic and remind us why so many of us have made a home within the ID community—a group full of thoughtful and brilliant people who are passionate about making this world a better place. Read an introduction to the Voices of ID: COVID-19 collection by Paul Sax, MD, and Sara Bares, MD. All papers from that original collection and subsequent Voices of ID contributions can be found below.
I have argued that solitude—a keen state of self-awareness—can lead to an enhanced sense of the physical and emotional stakes of pandemics. We might then be better able to orchestrate a more comprehensive response to the immediate and longer-term challenges. Solitude is not the purview only of ...
Then, my father was in the hospital, on oxygen, but the hospital didn’t permit visitors. He had a flip phone and was hard of hearing. He didn’t always answer when his phone rang. They kept moving him from room to room, so when you called, it was hit or miss. He might be in a different room or bed, ...
Her eyes opened only to see 4 unrecognizable people standing over her in masks, gowns, and gloves. Knowing we were COVID-19–negative, we removed our masks and gloves. I held her hand. Her eyes lit up, and she asked, “Where have you been?” She squeezed my hand and never let go. We talked, we ...
But I digress. I got angry. I wasn’t angry with any of the patients. No, my anger was for the people and the system that had made so many of them seem delusional. They were so sure, they believed what they were saying, and I began to understand that this was something beyond facts, beyond rational ...
12 May 2020 My kids have breakfast, homemade gifts, and a shelter-at-home Mother's Day planned. I try to enjoy my bacon and egg sandwich, but I’m distracted because my friend Jenny is in labor in an N95 mask. She tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) 12 days ago. She was 22 weeks ...
To be prepared to serve a community in crisis, one needs to begin with expecting excellence—from yourself as well as those you work alongside. The foundation of any well-functioning health system is not a perfect supply chain or well-functioning electronic health record system, as important as ...
