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Back to being a doctor again

Back to being a doctor again

Feels like any other job
Getting ready, saying goodbye to home, going to work
Sitting in an quiet office, looking at computer all day long
A lot of time on phone and some on webcam
Attending remote webinars
Sometimes wandering down the corridor, talking to colleagues
Scratching head, like solving a puzzle
Making cups of tea, or coffee
Jesting about silly things or sharing a solemn moment
Eating working lunch, peering yet again over more screens
Feels like any other job

But it’s not any other job
I am doctor
I am a doctor in Covid-19 world
Phones are to desperate patients struggling to cope
In pain with suffering as they can’t get their cure
Agonising over wait for an hospital appointment
Separated from their loved ones, yearning for one look
Terrified of a virus which has killed a million, yet more to come
Shielding from invisible enemy, homes like a bunker
Waiting for a vaccine which will reset the world

Feels like any other job
It’s end of the day, getting ready to go back home
Driving, listening to 630 comedy on radio 4
Hugging my daughter, kissing my wife
Sitting down with a glass of wine
Trying to erase thoughts of the day
Stealing glances away from mobile phone messages
It’s hard as it is, maybe I’ll wake up and it’ll all be a dream
Shaking hands and smiling without a mask.
And I can go back to being a doctor again

Dr Tej Bansil is a partner and PCN clinical director in West Sussex