Letter from the Editor: In the Coronavirus Pandemic, Words, and How We Communicate Them, Matter

The take-away lesson here is that words and how we communicate them do matter. And their effects are dire when we are faced with a medical crisis. It is my belief that if we better communicated how new this virus is, how uncertain we are on how it acts, how important it is to avoid going into public spaces, such as nursing homes, when we are sick, that lives could have been saved and spread diminished. Perhaps every time we saw a patient, we could have taken a couple of minutes to talk to them about what the coronavirus is and how important it is to practice good hand hygiene and think of the community before the individual to help prevent the spread.

My best wishes to you and your families, that you stay safe and healthy. I hope this will pass soon. Until then, let’s please do our best to treat our patients with compassion and set a good example of what it means to be a responsible member of a community. We are more than just a collection of individuals. Together we will overcome.

—Alex