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Although being isolated aroused anger and annoyance, this time it served to adapt to the current situation and prepare to fight the virus, which was still little known at the time. “That moment of self-isolation was the most difficult,” recalls N. Samuolis, recalling the challenges caused by the quarantine. Learn more about emotions in self-isolation, preparing to fight the virus, and lessons learned in a conversation with him.
Staff / surgeon photo from Ukmerg hospital Nikas Samuolis hospital
“What do you think about looking back on those almost three months of quarantine?”
– Usually it’s our own choice, whether it’s the best or the worst time. Before quarantine, I worked as a surgeon at Ukmergė Hospital, and the next quarantine was a great challenge for me personally. The specialty also had to be changed. Briefly postpone surgery and deal with patients with COVID-19. I had to learn quickly in the current moment, familiarize myself with innovative solutions. Doctors are behind all the other specialties with technologies such as remote consultation (telemedicine), 3D printers, communication, and now we are building facial panels or even artificial lung ventilators, we are increasingly using the ZOOM or Microsoft Teams applications.
We doctors are behind all other specialties with technologies like remote consultations, 3D printers, and now we are designing face shields or even artificial lung ventilation devices.
– What was the quarantine period for you?
– At first there was a lot of chaos, uncertainty, conflict, and I soon learned that quarantine is beginning to isolate me. The situation was so specific that our hospital doctors were diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus, even though he was not going anywhere at the time. We found out that the virus was already living in the hospital. And I was forced to spend 14 days of self-isolation, those days I stayed at home.
At first I thought there was contact, I knew I had to wait for the symptoms, but they did not appear either. Sitting, waiting, with nerves no stronger at that moment, he began to get angry at such a situation. You have to sit at home when you can help where you need it most. That moment of self-isolation was the most difficult because I had to stay home and I couldn’t help those who needed help at the time.
That moment of self-isolation was the most difficult because I had to stay home and I couldn’t help those who needed help at the time.
– Would you call self-isolation a bigger challenge than setting up a COVID-19 unit?
– Yes, really, the biggest challenge for me has been self-isolation, because it is difficult to accept the fact that you are healthy, but you cannot work and help others. I spent time at home studying myself and studying with foreign colleagues from China, the United States, and other countries about what that new coronavirus is like. When I returned from self-isolation, there was intensive training on how to provide oxygen therapy, how to work with a lung ventilator, while preparing myself for a much more complex situation than we actually had. I coordinated these trainings, and after that I needed equipment for the COVID-19 unit that was being developed. We don’t have a surplus of doctors, so we had to sacrifice the surgery department and go to work in the COVID-19 department.
Self-isolation and training became a period of transition, we were able to prepare ourselves to fight the virus both morally and with knowledge.
Staff / surgeon photo from Ukmerg hospital Nikas Samuolis hospital
– How did the situation change in this chapter from the first days until now?
– You could say the following is easy. Administration and medical personnel: together we have learned to manage a crisis. There was a situation that we never had, so we learned that it is still very important to cooperate and communicate. As communication within the hospital improved, the situation gradually decreased. There have been people who can help. You have realized that not only are managers able to handle the situation, but they are knowledgeable enough that doctors, nurses, and other staff members can contribute. Little by little, cooperation, the situation arose and stabilized.
Also, for almost a month during the self-isolation and training sessions, we took the knowledge ourselves. We were interested, we saw what colleagues were saying, what they shared, we were reading colleagues’ articles. Organized by the international community of surgeons. webinars, where they shared their experience, knowledge of how a surgeon would come to work in the COVID-19 unit, what you need to know. Then I was ready to work in this department.
– What lessons will you draw from this period?
– We saw how valuable a hospital employee is. I’m talking about all the staff: doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, cleaners. Thank God there was no need to make difficult moral decisions like in Italy or Spain, where the doctors decided if this patient would be treated or not.
We saw how valuable a hospital employee is. I’m talking about all the staff: doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, cleaners.
In fact, it provides very positive public support for the provision of personal protective equipment. I also collaborated with the School of Robotics, which developed the shields. That collaboration was “super” overall, and I’m excited about the involvement of the engineers. They called, consulted, looked for solutions on how we could find cheaper ways to make protective gear, but that would still be safe enough.
– What helps you relax after a busy day?
– My leisure activities are traditional: books, exercise, talking to friends on the phone or other means of telecommunications. In the spring period now, it is possible to go to the farm, to a safe space, where you no longer feel quarantined and can see how nature is awakening, carry out construction work. Distract it
– Do you like to observe nature and when did medicine appear in your sight?
– About 11th grade, I decided I wanted to study medicine. I did not see another more significant specialty. It seemed to me that she was a middle ground between the exact sciences and the humanities. The humanities are too weak for me, and the exact ones for too much purpose. That is what I chose. In 2016, I completed my residency and came to work at Ukmergė Hospital.
– What would colleagues like to continue working on the front line like?
– Strengths and a faster end to the coronavirus pandemic. But it appears that the front lines will have to be left to other professionals, as the biggest challenges now are how to start providing planned treatment services and get back on track. Now it will be necessary to find new ways to help people who do not have COVID-19 but who have other diseases and need help, with the same quality and speed. So creativity and more collaboration. Then everything can be accomplished.
– Thanks for chatting!
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