As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020, physician anesthesiologists quickly pivoted to treating COVID-19 patients in ICUs. They were uniquely prepared for the moment, with education, training, and expertise in pulmonary physiology, critical care medicine, ventilation strategies, resuscitation, intubation, and pain management. Many voluntarily traveled to hard-hit areas of the country to help, even though procedures like intubation put them within inches of a patient’s mouth and at very high risk for infection.
Submitted by Garrett Sendlewski on January 22, 2021