With his wife, their toddler, and a baby at home, Stephen Doyle, DO, MBA, was working every day for weeks at a time. He frequently left his house before the kids woke up and came home after they had gone to bed—a reminder of the inescapable strain felt by so many families of health care workers over the last year. 

Doyle understood the toll this kind of separation could have on his patients and their families too. “It was so hard having countless discussions about end-of-life decisions, like whether to get intubated or not, while a terrified patient was alone without his/her family in the room. This was by far the most challenging thing to deal with,” he said.

Amidst the difficulties, Doyle found support through networking and various opportunities offered by CHEST, noting that the podcasts and webinar series were especially helpful. They provided succinct summaries by content experts from all over the country, making trustworthy research immediately available and accessible. 

Doyle is the Chief Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He is also the Co-Chair for the Training and Transitions Committee and a Social Media Work Group member. 

Doyle encourages his colleagues to keep persevering and focusing on the many positives that have emerged from the medical community working together like never before, such as the capacity to transition quickly from status quo to emergency care, 24/7 consultations supported by remote monitoring and digital technologies, and high-quality studies produced in record-breaking time. 

While the year certainly presented its share of struggles, we appreciate the tireless efforts of experts like Dr. Doyle, who ensure that, out of those struggles, we have also grown stronger.