Episode 170: Emergency: Women in Medicine during Covid
/“It is extraordinary to think that you can take an entire workforce of humans and traumatize them internally and externally for an entire year...and then expect them to just be fine. That’s just not reasonable. ”
Dara Kass had always known emergency medicine was for her. She loved the excitement of the ER, the fact that she always had too much to do. It was only when she had a baby that she realized the emergency room, like so many other workplaces, wasn’t going to fit in with her - she was expected to fit in with it. She set out to change that for her and everyone else.
But when Covid-19 hit New York last spring, Dara was presented with challenges she could never have imagined - catching the virus herself, protecting her family, working through a relentless pandemic, and the loss of a colleague to suicide.
Dara kass next to the mask tree in her family living room
She still wants to bring gender equity to emergency medicine. But she says workers’ mental health has to take priority now and as we emerge from this pandemic.
Dara also addresses the difference between vaccine hesitancy and being an ‘anti-vaxxer,’ and unpicks the vaccine conspiracy theory aimed squarely at young women.
You can also read a transcript of the show.
Further reading: FemInEM is the organization Dara co-founded that advocates for women in emergency medicine.
Dr. Lorna Breen took her own life in April 2020. This is the foundation her family started to bring attention to the problem of healthcare worker burnout. They’ve also introduced a bill that, if passed, will fund initiatives to help prevent suicide and burnout among medical professionals.