35: Medicine Never Had a Debrief: The Trauma We Still Carry From COVID

Medicine Never Had a Debrief: The Trauma We Still Carry From COVID

What happens when the crisis ends—but your nervous system never gets the message?

For many physicians and healthcare workers, the COVID-19 pandemic wasn't simply a difficult chapter in their careers. It was a prolonged period of fear, uncertainty, isolation, moral distress, and repeated exposure to death and suffering.

And then, when the acute crisis finally began to ease, we were largely expected to go back to normal.

But what if our brains and bodies didn't get that memo?

In this episode of Navigating Possibility, Dr. Christina Adams reflects on the trauma of practicing medicine during COVID and why so many physicians may still feel emotionally activated when the pandemic comes up today.

She shares memories of practicing obstetrics during the earliest days of the pandemic: reusing N95 masks, creating makeshift PPE solutions, stripping off contaminated clothing in the garage before entering the house, and waking up in the middle of the night terrified that going to work might put her family at risk.

She remembers Labor & Delivery nurses being separated from their colleagues after caring for COVID patients, patients laboring and pushing for hours while wearing masks, families being kept out of the hospital during births, and sitting in the call room listening to repeated Code Blues over the hospital intercom.

And she talks about the conversations that happened at home—about wills, death, and what would happen to her family if she didn't come home.

Then came the vaccines.

For many healthcare workers, their arrival represented the first real sense of hope after months of uncertainty. But the intense political division surrounding COVID and vaccination created another layer of emotional injury.

Friendships changed.

Families became divided.

Healthcare workers sometimes found themselves watching their lived experiences become political arguments.

For someone who had spent months caring for critically ill patients and witnessing death firsthand, those conversations could feel deeply personal.

This episode explores what happens when collective trauma is never collectively processed.

Christina also discusses moral injury, the legacy of physician mental health advocacy following the death of Dr. Lorna Breen, and the complicated relationship many physicians have with seeking mental health care.

Finally, she explains why this is part of what led her to become a physician coach—and the important distinction between coaching and mental health treatment.

Coaching is not therapy, and it isn't a substitute for psychiatric or psychological care. But for physicians who are struggling with burnout, career dissatisfaction, identity, or the question of what comes next, coaching can provide a confidential space to think, reflect, and reconnect with what matters.

Because maybe the problem isn't that we haven't moved on.

Maybe we were never given the opportunity to process what happened.

In this episode, we explore:

The lingering effects of COVID trauma on physicians and healthcare workers
Why traumatic memories can be triggered years after an event has ended
The experience of practicing medicine without adequate PPE or reliable information
The emotional impact of isolation on Labor & Delivery nurses and physicians
The trauma experienced by patients who gave birth without their loved ones present
The fear of bringing COVID home to your family
Making wills and discussing death during the height of the pandemic
The complicated emotions surrounding the arrival of COVID vaccines
How political polarization compounded the trauma many healthcare workers were already carrying
Losing friendships and relationships during the pandemic
Moral injury and the experience of feeling that your lived reality has been dismissed
The legacy of Dr. Lorna Breen and physician mental health advocacy
Why physicians may hesitate to seek mental health treatment
The difference between coaching and mental health treatment
Why processing our experiences may be an essential part of preventing future burnout

A question to sit with

What are you still carrying from COVID that you never had the opportunity to process?

Maybe it's grief.

Maybe it's anger.

Maybe it's fear.

Maybe it's guilt.

Maybe it's the memory of a patient, a colleague, or a moment you haven't talked about in years.

Or maybe you simply notice that certain conversations still make your body react before your brain has even caught up.

If that's happening to you, you're not necessarily "stuck in the past."

Your nervous system may simply remember what your calendar has forgotten.

A note about coaching

Coaching is not psychotherapy or psychiatric treatment, and it is not appropriate for every mental health concern. Physicians experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidal thoughts, or other mental health conditions should seek care from an appropriately qualified mental health professional.

For physicians who are looking for support with burnout, career decisions, boundaries, identity, or navigating what comes next, coaching can offer a confidential space for reflection and change.

Continue the conversation

If this episode resonated with you, share it with another physician or healthcare worker who lived through those years.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can hear after a difficult experience is simply:

"Me too."

And if this episode brought up something you haven't had space to process, consider what it might look like to finally give yourself the debrief you never got.

🤝 Work With Me

If this episode resonates, I'd love to talk about how we can work together.

I work 1:1 with women physicians who are:

Burned out and questioning their future in medicine
Navigating contract non-renewal or job loss
Planning an intentional exit from clinical practice
Exploring advocacy, leadership, or nonclinical career paths

✨ Schedule a free coaching consultation to explore what’s next.

About the Podcast Navigating Possibility — A Podcast for Women Physicians Ready to Reclaim Their Power

Navigating Possibility is the podcast for women physicians experiencing burnout, career dissatisfaction, or major transitions in medicine.

If you're a woman doctor considering leaving clinical practice, exploring nonclinical careers, or seeking a more sustainable and aligned path, this podcast is for you.

I’m Dr. Christina Adams—OB-GYN, physician coach, and former burned-out doctor. I help women physicians move from survival mode to self-trust, clarity, and empowered career decisions.

Each episode includes:

Physician burnout recovery tools
Nervous system regulation strategies for high-achieving women
Conversations about leaving medicine or redesigning your role
Coaching insight for intentional career transitions
Advocacy conversations about systemic change in healthcare
Real stories from women physicians redefining success

This is your space to breathe, reflect, and remember who you are beneath the white coat. You are not alone. There is a growing movement of women physicians reclaiming autonomy, identity, and possibility.

✨ Subscribe, share with a colleague, and help reshape the future of medicine.

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Keywords: COVID trauma, physician burnout, healthcare worker trauma, physician mental health, moral injury in medicine, healthcare worker PTSD, physician PTSD, COVID pandemic trauma, women physicians, physician wellness, medical trauma, burnout recovery, physician coaching, women in medicine, physician mental health stigma, Lorna Breen, healthcare worker burnout