[DocSavage87]

Back in the spring, I was getting hit up for ICU locus tenens work in New York.  The going rate was about double what I typically see advertised for locum work.  Come summer, I was seeing ads for work in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, and Florida, though the going rate was down some.  Now I’m seeing rates approach those of New York, but the work is throughout the country.  I imagine that if things continue, supply and demand working the way it does, the offers will continue to get more lucrative.  The problem is that unlike spring, where resources were needed desperately in a single area of the country, we are approaching a beggar-thy-neighbor situation.  There are only so many qualified MD’s in the country, and more crucially, there are only so many nurses and respiratory therapists.

I remember the interview with a traveling nurse in El Paso, talking about how she had been in NYC but what was going on in El Paso with "the pit" put her over the edge.  I have nothing but respect for all essential workers dealing with overloaded areas, and wonder how many will need to take a break just to maintain sanity.  Things aren't going to get better for a while.

There were interviews with the UCSF folks who volunteered for NYC duty.  The stories they told were sobering, particularly the somewhat downplayed comments about how emergency staff were in positions they weren't really trained for.  I think this contributes, in part, to the increased bad outcomes as hospitals get overwhelmed.

I was amazed when I read that Sweden basically never moved elderly and those with high BMI to ICUs if they got bad.  They do triage at that level, and I wonder how Americans would feel if we adopted the same practices.

[DocSavage87]

Back in the spring, I was getting hit up for ICU locus tenens work in New York.  The going rate was about double what I typically see advertised for locum work.  Come summer, I was seeing ads for work in Arizona, Texas, Georgia, and Florida, though the going rate was down some.  Now I’m seeing rates approach those of New York, but the work is throughout the country.  I imagine that if things continue, supply and demand working the way it does, the offers will continue to get more lucrative.  The problem is that unlike spring, where resources were needed desperately in a single area of the country, we are approaching a beggar-thy-neighbor situation.  There are only so many qualified MD’s in the country, and more crucially, there are only so many nurses and respiratory therapists.

I remember the interview with a traveling nurse in El Paso, talking about how she had been in NYC but what was going on in El Paso with "the pit" put her over the edge.  I have nothing but respect for all essential workers dealing with overloaded areas, and wonder how many will need to take a break just to maintain sanity.  Things aren't going to get better for a while.

There were interviews with the UCSF folks who volunteered for NYC duty.  The stories they told were sobering, particularly the somewhat downplayed comments about how emergency staff were in positions they weren't really trained for.  I think this contributes, in part, to the increased bad outcomes as hospitals get overwhelmed.

I was amazed when I read that Sweden basically never moved elderly and those with high BMI to ICUs if they got bad.  They do triage at that level, and I wonder how Americans would feel if we adopted the same practices.