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PHYSICIAN BURNOUT
Of Sisyphus and COVID
We must always remember that, unlike Sisyphus, we are not alone.
There is character from Greek mythology named Sisyphus. This man was condemned to push a large boulder up a hill, only to have that boulder fall back down the bottom right as he reached the top. Sisyphus is then forced to go back to the bottom of the hill and push the boulder back up again. He is condemned to do this for eternity, as a punishment from Zeus for having cheated death.
This is how it has felt caring for critically ill COVID patients throughout this pandemic. Patient after patient comes to the ICU, and with each one, we have some semblance of hope that this one will be different. Maybe this one will be the one who beats the odds and survives with a good outcome. Then, more often than not, we watch them die after suffering terrible affliction. Just this past week, we lost count of the number of patients who died of COVID. And there are even more who will likely not survive.
This has happened again, and again, and again. It is absolutely exhausting. And it makes me feel like I’m Sisyphus, endlessly pushing that large and heavy boulder up the hill, only to have the boulder fall back down. In fact, a “Sisyphean task” is one that seems fruitless and absolutely impossible to complete.
