Alumni Snapshots: Severn alumnae on the front lines

Sarah Goodrich Grangien '99 is the Chief of Neurodiagnostic Services at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. She is one of our Admiral alumni heroes, fighting on the frontlines of the pandemic to save lives. Several weeks ago, Sarah’s husband, Max drove their young son and daughter to Vermont to stay with grandparents, so that Sarah would not be jeopardizing their safety and well-being. They returned home last week and Sarah was overjoyed to be united with them. These are Sarah’s reflections from her work with patients and fellow doctors over recent weeks. 

 

"The emotions are vast, to say the least. They range from feeling fear, sadness, honor, compassion, pride and hope. As a leader, I want to be strong and be able to offer fact-based knowledge to my staff so they feel safe. This is very difficult with such a novel pandemic. There have been tears among many whom I have never seen cry. The fear of being on the front lines is one thing for self-preservation. The weight that this pandemic extends to infecting those you love is extremely taxing and adds another layer of burden on us. We have talked about how we feel honored to help COVID-19 patients who are all alone in their room by making them smile or holding their hand. We spend over an hour in their room performing the testing which is unique to many healthcare workers. We have the chance to connect with the patients and that makes it all worthwhile. I have a lot of pride as I see my staff work as a team; comforting each other and supporting one another. The younger staff have demonstrated amazing compassion as they purposely take most of the COVID-19 cases to help alleviate the risk of exposure to their older/more compromised coworkers. Something that truly shows we work as a family to care for each other over all else. Yesterday, at a huddle we all shared how proud we feel that Medstar Georgetown has done an incredible job with support, innovation and planning. They have set us up to succeed (i.e. adequate PPE, education and constant communication and support). This is essential during a time with such uncertainty. Overall, I am thankful for having a job, being able to help the ill and lucky to work at an institution that values the people more than the money, and, of course, my current health and the health of my family and my team."

 

Claire Rosen '10 is a general surgery resident at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia, PA who graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health. She earned her MD from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she taught an elective course to first and second-year students on humanism and professionalism in medicine. In the future she plans to pursue a career in academic surgery and focus academic endeavors on the intersection of surgery and public health and the role of humanism in successful surgical outcomes. These are Claire’s reflections from her work with patients and fellow doctors over recent weeks. 

 

"It’s hard to know what to say - everything changes so quickly. One day I go from living my life and learning and operating, to the next when I’m not allowed in the hospital, to the next when I’m needed in the OR to operate but we don’t yet know the patient’s COVID status or if we’re too exposed by operating, to the next when I’m working overnight shifts to place central lines in new critically ill COVID patients, to the next when I’m assigned to staff a brand new extra ICU and on backup call but never needed in that ICU, to the next when we’re starting to re-open more of our ORs for cases and we are trying to get back to some sort of semblance of business as usual for our patients despite the world still being in flux. 

 

My hospital has worked hard to limit our exposure to the virus by limiting working hours, but that feels strange to someone used to working 80-hour weeks. This extra time away, though safe, can be stressful in other ways - as residents we want to focus on studying, writing, and publishing (all of the academic things we should always be doing but there is never enough time) but it’s impossible to focus. It’s hard to stay connected with peers when we are discouraged from being physically close at home and at work. Surgery is such a team sport, and teams are right now limited in numbers and support, and socializing at work (though once the epitome of my wellbeing) is now restricted and even further impacting the isolation that COVID is dictating. Penn has been generous in supplying us with free virtual mental health sessions, and my colleagues and I have appreciated this supportive outlet."