By Steven Reames, Executive Director, Ada County Medical Society

Last month, I addressed the issue of anger in the face of the Delta Surge, explaining it is a natural emotional reaction that is better not stuffed but must be processed in a healthy way. Although that resonated with many physicians who wrote back or told me in person, I recognize anger is not everybody’s response. Sometimes our reaction to overwhelm is just becoming dumb and numb.

By Guillermo Guzman, MD, Saint Alphonsus Medical Center, Idaho State Board of Medicine 

The stressors of the day to day activities that fade into routine and become almost imperceptible. The added patient at the end of our shift, followed by a phone call that still needs to be completed. The almost mandatory extra hour to finish your medical records and then on to review laboratory and radiology results waiting in your inbox. Only to start again the next day. And on to the next week. And so on.

By Steven Reames, Executive Director, Ada County Medical Society

As we move towards implementing crisis standards of care for the first time in Ada County’s history, there is a lot of anger out there. It’s no wonder with a projection of 30,000 new COVID cases statewide in a week, an ongoing shortage of healthcare personnel to go around, and a lack of political will. One could think our state emblem might best be changed to hot potatoes.