Leah Croll, MD: Psychosocial Implications of COVID-19 on Doctors

This combination of having this big unknown disease process and being out of my comfort zone as a neurologist was so anxiety-provoking.

Members of the NYU Langone Health Department, including Leah Croll, MD, put together an anonymous electronic survey to all neurology faculty and house staff to assess the potential psychosocial impacts of COVID-19. The report outlined the psychosocial concerns of the faculty as well as the multifaceted support services that the department and institution were offering in response.

Results showed that 48% of faculty and 60% of house staff self-reported having increased fear, anxiety, and depression during the pandemic. Additionally, most respondents reported that the institution had provided adequate counseling and support services and that the department had rendered adequate emotional support.

Croll, a neurology resident at NYU Langone and leading author of the study, noted that she was proud to share her results with NeurologyLive. In this interview, she detailed the findings of that survey, as well as her personal experience and takeaways from her time during the pandemic.

REFERENCE

Croll, L, Kurzweil A. Hasanaj L, Serrano L, Balcer LJ, Galetta SL. The psychosocial implications of COVID-19 for a neurology program in a pandemic epicenter. J Neurol Sci. published July 14, 2020. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117034.