Giving Everything: The Daily life of a Doctor Working During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect millions of people globally, many people have begun to share their experiences in the workplace. Many doctors have begun to vlog or video record their shifts to demonstrate the intensity of their job as hundreds of patients come in each day seeking treatment. One of these doctors is Dr. Melanie Malloy at Mount Sinai hospital in New York City; in her segment of “From The Frontlines” she shows exactly how her day unfolds working in the field of emergency medicine. With her video, she provides us with a performance in which she lifts the veil that social distancing has created between us and the outside world. Her story is compelling, heartwrenching, and unquestionably authentic, showing the nation’s desperation for an end to the chaos.

At the beginning of the video, Dr. Malloy explains that her day has already begun by taking care of her kids and having them prepared for school at home; she does not start the video at the hospital. This way, we can see her not just as a physician but also as a mother, so her kids are her priority before coming to the workplace; furthermore, she is a widow, so she takes care of her children alone with the occasional help of a babysitter. Her choice to reveal this aspect of her life demonstrates the authenticity of the performance and her words, which are partially defined in our modern culture by our ability to be vulnerable and honest to a larger audience. As Mast states in his book The Performative Presidency, “ ‘Authenticity’ is prized, but it is an interpretive category” (11). As an audience, we appreciate her authenticity because we interpret her challenges as legitimate,  especially since other Americans may be experiencing these challenges in their own lives.

Dr. Malloy then goes to her hospital and takes us on a tour of the ICU. As the camera pans around the unit, we see several ventilators lined up in the halls, and hear many machines and computers beeping at us at various frequencies. The chaotic nature of the equipment in the ICU evokes a sense of panic and fear as we watch her squeeze through the halls. She states “it’s not a huge space, but it’s quite full. Every bed is full, ”and, as an audience, we instantly believe her. The various ventilators and machines function as a “symbolic means of production”, allowing Dr. Malloy to project the situation of her job onto the environment in which she works her daily shift and compelling us to feel her anxiety even though many of us are watching from the comfort of our homes (Mast, 12). 

As Dr. Malloy stands outside of the hospital at the end of her shift, she states that “it’s hard to think that some of your patients...might not be there tomorrow”. She is completely drained and the energy that was in her voice in the morning has now dissipated. As someone who plans to one-day practice medicine, I could immediately see myself in her shoes, experiencing the same challenges at my future job, whether it be during some medical pandemic or even a long stressful day at the hospital. However, Dr. Malloy has shown this video not so others would suffer as she has; She makes her experiences public to demonstrate how no person should have to experience this daily routine in the future. Unfortunately, she is only one of many people around the globe who work continuously to help those affected by COVID-19. Many politicians and leaders resonate with her experience, but ultimately, the choice is theirs to strategize a way in which we can leave COVID-19 behind us and move onto recovery.

Reference: 

Mast, Jason L. The Performative Presidency Crisis and Resurrection during the Clinton Years. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

Mount Sinai Health System. “From The Frontlines: Dr. Melanie Malloy's Story”. Youtube video, 8:39. April 16, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVXInwzlFD0. 

U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, health.usnews.com/doctors/melanie-malloy-1216255.