• mental health
• clinical management
• HR management
• personnel management
• staff support

In this month’s EMJ, there are two reports looking at the well-being of emergency medicine staff during the early stages of the pandemic.1 2 These are both small qualitative studies, one from Canada and one from the USA, but the findings will resonate with many clinicians worldwide. The authors have performed a useful service to document and archive their findings to inform better responses in future pandemics. This qualitative research compliments existing quantitative work.3

Data collection was at the beginning of the pandemic, where the great uncertainty about the course was a trigger for all sorts of anxiety. There are a number of factors causing staff distress that will have been common to everyone, such as collapsing childcare and health anxiety. There are factors related to working in healthcare, such uncertainty about personal protective equipment, bringing COVID-19 home and compromising care. However, the factors specific to emergency medicine are the most valuable. It is clear that many residents felt their education and development was hindered by the pandemic, partly because the service demands fluctuated wildly, but also the time and ability to engage in peer support activities was …