Doctors Risked Suicide, Miscarriage on Duty, Then Covid Arrived

In June 2019, Dr. Lorna Breen co-authored a research article that found emergency room providers could reduce the “alarming prevalence of clinician burnout” by working in “paired teams” of caregivers.

“Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness, which may lead to feelings of depersonalization and reduced accomplishment,” Breen and her colleagues wrote in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Ten months later, in April 2020, Breen committed suicide after treating scores of dying Covid-19 patients, contracting the virus herself, and being consumed by feelings of helplessness and despair.

Breen, who led the emergency department at New ...