A New Normal

Photo by Mika Baumeister

The only thing I can say right now - which is pretty much what everyone else has already said -Things are looking very uncertain at the moment. Like many people I wonder when life will get back to normal but from where I'm sitting it doesn't look like it will be any time soon as children continue their education from home through virtual learning and many work remotely or not at all due to the pandemic.

Personally, I've been working from home while trying to keep myself, as well as my family, entertained and sane. Like everyone else I'm adjusting to the fact that this is now our "normal." We are living a "new normal" and the only thing we can do is the best we can to endure these changes; the lock down, the social distancing when we're out, the mask wearing - all these things, though frustrating, to keep ourselves and others around us safe.

An additional thing I have to do is keep my vision safe. Actually everyone should be doing that. Since I've been at home so much, I've been spending a lot of time on my phone and computer. My usage of both has increased due to work as well as boredom. I haven't had any issues with my vision, which is great, and I certainly don't want to create any issues, but I am concerned about vision issues that have no warning signs because who knows when I'll be able to see an eye doctor again.
 

I also wonder what the plan is for patient care going forward from all of this. Out of curiosity and partial boredom I've been watching live streams where doctors discussed future possibilities of patient care. I've heard talks about tele-medicine, virtual clinics using Artificial Intelligence (AI), and even the possible use of plexiglass cases to examine patients, but what I haven't heard in those particular meeting are questions/concerns from patients. I understand that doctors are the professionals as well as the ones providing the service, BUT patient concerns, especially during this time, are also very important and should be apart of the discussion concerning patient care. But that's just my opinion.

I know that at this point no one has any solid answers as to what things will look like in the coming months but I do hope in this new normal, as life resets, businesses plan to re-open, and the plexiglass goes up, that we keep in mind the total needs of those we serve.