The New York Post has selected Nermeen Botros, an Egyptian-American doctor working as the chief medical resident at Brookdale University Hospital’s Medical Center as its “Hero of the Day” for tirelessly working 80 hours a week since the coronavirus crisis began.
Botros’s work doesn’t stop even when she gets home, the article says, as she’s on call 24/7 to support the younger residents she oversees.
She told the New York Post that her calls aren’t just for medical information.
“It’s because it’s a serious situation for all of us, so many of the residents are scared of the disease, scared of the death.”
Botros, 35, said “It’s a new situation for them. Everything here is new. The management plan is new, the whole disease and whole virus is new,” adding that no one is aware of the virus’s exact nature and that her job is to support people whenever she can.
When the first COVID-19 cases rolled into her hospital several weeks ago, Botros said the situation was difficult to deal with.
“We didn’t know even the process of the proper testing for those patients, who should we contact, the isolation process and even those placed under investigation, how to manage them,” she said.
After many residents felt too uncertain to take the COVID-19 tests, Botros stepped in to administrate the tests herself.
“It’s priceless to see a patient improving,” she said, adding that “Making a difference, a small difference on a daily basis, that’s what really makes me happy and accomplished.”
