Residency Diary: Second Year—COVID-19 in New York

In his “Residency Diary: Second Year—COVID-19 in New York,” Drake LeBrun, a second-year orthopaedic surgery resident, chronicles his experiences during the initial wave of the pandemic from March to May 2020 in three monthly diary entries. In the first March 2020 entry, he takes readers inside “Another night on trauma call in Queens, at the epicenter of a pandemic. / There are sirens blaring near the ED” (Lebrun 2436). Grateful to his mentors, by May 2020, he observes the physical shifts in the hospital’s surroundings, symbolizing the transition to a “new normal” (Lebrun 2437). Helping an older woman with a fracture, “I try to show sympathy through my mask and reassure her that she will get home to her husband soon” (Lebrun 2437). Amidst the challenges and witnessing mass suffering, LeBrun finds solace in utilizing his expertise to ease patients’ pain. In the face of chaos, his diary highlights the dualistic nature of frontline work during the pandemic—draining yet fulfilling.