Sharing Stories Through Art: Promoting Resident Connection During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

> Our alarms ring promptly in the early mornings, a synchronous wakeup call for resident physicians. We hurry to get dressed, brew our coffee, and head into the hospital. It is the height of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and we are careful to isolate ourselves during our commutes. It is our civic duty. We used to take for granted the familiar sounds of our daily migrations from home to work; the rhythmic streams of music played a bit too loudly through the headphones of fellow train passengers, the cacophonous honking of horns in backed up traffic, and the quick “hellos” exchanged between passersby in the crosswalk. Now, we hear mostly silence. > This sense of eerie quiet and seclusion also permeates the hospital, and beyond. At sign out, we greet our colleagues with smiles that remain hidden under our surgical masks. We bathe shared pagers and workstations in antiseptic, sterilizing the process of transition from shift to shift. In caring for patients, we struggle to build rapport amid the barriers of personal protective gear and safe social distancing practices. We grapple with laughter and loss through plastic face shields, human touch diminished as a silent enemy invades. After work, we have difficulty effectively processing our experiences and emotions, our friends and loved ones accessible only virtually or from afar. We feel … Address correspondence to Dr Danielle Rabinowitz, Md, MM, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston MA, 02115. E-mail: danielle.rabinowitz{at}childrens.harvard.edu