Abstract
The summer of 2020 posed some unique and specific challenges when I began residency training in family medicine, from the masks that placed a new barrier between myself and patients, to the surges of COVID-19 infections that overwhelmed my hospital, to the travel limitations that impeded my ability to visit loved ones. I expected to feel overwhelmed by the combination of a rigorous training program and global pandemic. Instead, each day I felt a growing sense of dread about the work that I was being asked to do: Treat COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) with inhalers and other medications my patients needed but could not afford. Discharge patients to untenable home situations knowing they would be doomed to return in a matter of days. Recommend mental health services while recognizing it would take months for patients to be seen.
