Hi everyone

I'm a healthcare worker and have been doing telehealth since COVID. Now we're going back to the hospital as of Monday. We have a small office, so only so many people can be back at work on any given day, so I'll probably only be there about twice a week (still haven't gotten my schedule) and the rest of the days continue to do telehealth.

I'm nervous. For various reasons. One is that I've gotten very comfortable working from home, it's safe and cozy; changing my routines is very hard for me. Another is that I HATE driving and will have to go back to doing so, and in rush hour. And third, cases have and are still increasing in my state, as they are in so many others, and I'm afraid of a surge overwhelming the hospital. Which leads me to the fact that I'm afraid of getting COVID.

We're taking all kinds of precautions, including wearing surgical masks in the office, in the halls, and with patients, in other words all the time, and eye protection with all patients as well. I was feeling fairly safe about this until this latest surge. As far as the ED (we work all over the hospital, it's a long story explaining what I do), you don't know what they're coming in with until they're sitting in front of you in triage. I really admire those who work in Emergency Departments; they are, truly, on the front lines. Everywhere else in the hospital, at least you know what you're dealing with from the outset.

So I'm anxious about for all sorts of reasons. The positive, is that I will once again have in-person contact with patients and other providers, and I have missed that.