When we asked Dr. Lynn Bowlby, medical director of the Duke Outpatient Clinic, whether the new interns had seen her without a mask, she told us that “it actually took us a few weeks to realize we had never seen the interns without a mask on, nor they us!“
We then inquired how things are going for DOC clinic given the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and arrival of new interns in July. She was quick to say that “it really takes a team – from our social work staff to our nursing staff, all contributing to a virtual orientation and then a short, on-site orientation.”
This was a first, a complete rework of orientation this year. Yet now, three months later, Bowlby reports “In testimony to the interns it is as if they have been at DOC for years. They have embraced our very complex patients, going above and beyond to provide care for their medical problems, help them with housing and cost of medications, and provide support through their worries about COVID. We have come to know each other through our eyes, and have figured out that a smile is in our eyes as well as our actual mouths!”
“We have come to know each other through our eyes, and have figured out that a smile is in our eyes as well as our actual mouths!”
Lynn Bowlby, MD
Medical Director, Duke Outpatient Clinic
"One thing for certain is change."
COVID-19 continues to transform the DOC, pushing all to be innovative, creative and vigilant over months of a changed clinic. For example, "telephone visits where the complaint is abdominal pain, push us to new ways to figure out how best to help our patients. We continue to be ready for additional changes that will be happening!"