By Brendan Duffy RPSGT
St Charles Sleep Disorders Center
Clinical Sleep Health Educator
These have been trying times for all of us and have disrupted the schedules of everyone. As a health care worker I get to see firsthand the time, effort, and compassion of the healthcare “teams” out there every day seeking to win daily against this COVID virus. I want to start out with a “shout out “to my teammates in hospitals throughout the country! I salute you all and admire your dedication and hard work under stressful conditions! I also want to thank the community that has shown so much love for our local medical teams here on Long Island with their adherence to isolation directives, kind touching notes, care packages, supplies etc.! It means a lot!
If you are an athlete or a coach, you know how important it is for everyone to work as a team when the going gets tough. You understand how what you do can impact the success or the failure of the whole team. So what skill sets am I seeing that match any player skill set on the field or court out there? What leads to success?
Control What You Can Control– Healthcare workers, like athletes need to free their minds of things outside of their control and stay in the moment. They must work on what they can control. For healthcare staff, that could be their wearing a mask, monitoring their own health, etc. They must be able to block out the stories and noise out there and focus on their patients and team role. They must try and drown out all of the surrounding politics and center themselves on the medical science.
Know Your Role– Everyone on the team has special talents and abilities, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other staff. Some staff members, like athletes, are called upon to step up in big moments. We are seeing that throughout the hospitals daily. It could be a nurse, a Respiratory Therapist, or the person working the phone frantically to get supplies for the rest of their co-workers. When you get your chance on the field, will you be able to answer in a big way as these unseen heroes are doing?
Sacrifice– If what we do was easy, everyone would do it. It’s not enough to say you want to be… it takes sacrifice of time and effort to reach your goals. These doctors and nurses have trained for this all their life. Their abilities kick in automatically. Via constant education, medical staffs build on their skills and abilities. They are spending time away from family and friends to win this battle. If you, as an athlete, want to be at the top of your game, it will require sacrifice and commitment much greater than what you might have envisioned. That is what it will take to make you an elite athlete. It will separate the dedicated from those that have “the want “but not “the will”.
Huddle– Good teams get together often to review what is working and what is not working with their game strategies. Hospital workers take this very seriously and meet on a daily business with the whole team. Every member is as important as the next. The surgeon, the supply manager, the infection control manager, the housekeepers… they all relate their game plans and then it all the pieces of the puzzle are put together to make the vision a success in their facility . They prepare and adjust for each opponent they are about to face. That may be supplies, staffing, and technology. They meet each opponent through communication and shared information. Then a cohesive and realistic game plan is crafted which enables the best chance of success.
Communication – Mentally and physically these are very trying times. The hours and stress are long. The final score is unknown. Nobody wants to let their hospital teammates down. But it doesn’t help the team if you are struggling silently inside. Staff need to be encouraged to try and get some recovery and downtime when needed. They also need this downtime and sleep to mentally and physically recharge. Sleep is also important to reboot their immune system Colleagues must be vigilant and look out for each other. There must be sufficient resources for hospital staff to help them cope with all they are working through. There must be communication. And there must be listening. Someone once said we were designed with 2 ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. Take care to look for signs of fatigue or depression in your associates as they engage in this COVID fight daily.
Of course the stakes are much higher for these health care workers than any athletic contest. It is about saving lives of mothers, fathers, grandparents, brothers and sisters.
It is an honor to be a very small part of this courageous and dedicated team. I am surrounded by great coaches and teammates! – The hospital family!
They have already saved many lives! They are already the GOAT! GREATEST OF ALL TIME!
Stay healthy! Be safe – and rest assured that these medical teams are doing their best in their arena each and every day!
