Dr. Liu: We were in the process of a compensation plan redesign even before COVID. Trying to change how physicians are paid in the middle of the pandemic was unsettling for all. Ultimately, we still moved forward to better align our compensation model with the academic focus of our organization. Additionally, we were ready to hire a phenomenal surgeon–scientist when the pandemic hit. When everything shut down, we had to put a complete stop to the process and put our expansion plans on hold. It was tough, but the right decision in March 2020.
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March 2022Dr. Choo: Early on, balancing the greater good vs. individual needs/ desires was consistently difficult. PPE was an easy example: There weren’t enough N95s to go around. Some faculty procured their own, but that left nursing and anesthesia staffs inequitably protected. Having discussions with faculty about compromising their own safety for the institutional good was very difficult.
JW: Given the weight and pace of evolving changes, what has been the impact to your own well-being, energy, and mental health, and what do you do for self-care?
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Dr. Choo: I truly never experienced any depletion of energy or sense of well-being. My saving grace was engaging more people to help lead and carry the load. My refueling was accomplished by watching people step up and demonstrate new skills, new leadership, new boldness, and new maturity as they were charged with new responsibilities and opportunities that probably wouldn’t have arisen without COVID-19. Candidly, more than 80% of the ideas that we implemented were conceived and developed by my COVID team. We had daily meetings during the peaks that were my recharge. Then, as things waned, we shifted to weekly and bi-weekly meetings. If anything, I miss the very close contact I had with that team and the active, high-energy decisions that we were implementing on a day-to-day basis.
Dr. Liu: The pressure to model the right behavior has meant that I’ve spent the last two years living a lifestyle with a very strict interpretation of safety precautions and recommendations, while everyone else seems to be having dinner out, going to concerts, and seeing friends. It can definitely feel very isolating at times. Self-care? At least there’s golf.
JW: How would you rate your job satisfaction now compared to three years ago?
Dr. Choo: High. Being engaged, relevant, and impactful are key drivers of my satisfaction. Making a difference hugely determines whether I’m enjoying my job. If nothing else, COVID-19 presented many of us with an elevated opportunity to make decisions and changes that were significantly impactful in people’s day-to-day and longterm lives. Through original COVID-19 and subsequently Delta, none of my faculty ever caught COVID-19, and only one administrative assistant developed significant illness requiring transient hospitalization. I’m not sure how many of my people have gotten Omicron, but I’m hopeful and confident that we won’t lose anyone to this variant before it starts waning. Reflecting back on that kind of end result, I can glean a lot of satisfaction.