CHEST Pulse

Strategies to Combat Stress and Fatigue

Health-care providers in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine face a unique set of challenges caring for patients with COVID-19. Traditional coping mechanisms are stretched and sometimes exhausted. Previously unfamiliar stressors call for a revisit of our strategies to combat stress and fatigue. Learn more in this episode. (Originally recorded August 19, 2020) Moderator: Alexander S. Niven, MD, FCCP. Panelists: Ritwick Agrawal, MD, MS, FCCP; Anjali Bhagra, MD; Michael A. Grandner, PhD, MTR; and Barbara A. Phillips, MD, MSPH, FCCP. For more tools to help you maintain peak performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit the CHEST Wellness Center at https://www.chestnet.org/Guidelines-and-Resources/Resources/Wellness-Resources.

Lung Transplantation in the Era of COVID-19

In this episode, hear about the various aspects of lung transplantation in the era of COVID-19, including lung transplantation donation during COVID-19, the management and outcome of lung transplant recipients with COVID-19, and lung transplantation for COVID-19-related respiratory failure. (Originally recorded October 8, 2020) Moderator: Stephanie M. Levine, MD, FCCP. Panelists: Marie M. Budev, DO, MPH, FCCP; Harpreet S. Grewal, MD; and Deborah Jo Levine, MD, MS, FCCP. For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

Taking Care of Your Team During COVID‑19

Strong teamwork is important in any modern health care environment. Health care teams in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine have faced a wide variety of new challenges caring for patients with COVID-19, forcing innovative and creative solutions to support their consistently high performance. In this episode, an interprofessional panel of experienced managers discusses strategies to both maximize team performance and support individual members during the ongoing pandemic and methods to rapidly and effectively train and integrate new health care workers during times of surge. (Originally recorded September 16, 2020)

Moderator: Alexander S. Niven, MD, FCCP

Panelists: Joseph Falise, MSN, RN; Kathy L. Fedor, RRT-ACCS, RCP; Julie Jackson, RRC-ACCS, RCP; Carl Kaplan, MD, FCCP; Geneva Tatem, MD, FCCP; James Town, MD; and Joanne Wozniak, PA-C, MS, FCCP

For more tools to help you maintain peak performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit the CHEST Wellness Center at https://www.chestnet.org/Guidelines-and-Resources/Resources/Wellness-Resources.

Living 6 Feet Apart: Experiences With COVID-19 From the CF Community

Infection prevention is not a new concept for the cystic fibrosis (CF) community, but COVID-19 is different. This episode highlights how the CF Foundation, the Care Center Network, patients, and families partnered together in response to the challenges of life during a pandemic. (Originally recorded September 24, 2020)

Moderator: Gretchen Winter, MD

Panelists: Patrick A. Flume, MD; Albert Faro, MD; and Ginger Birnbaum

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

Critical Care, Pulmonary, and Sleep Medicine Coding and Billing During the Pandemic and Beyond

COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges, which led to innovative and expanded clinical services. This episode highlights opportunities in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine with associated coding and billing requirements in 2020 and some anticipated changes for 2021. (Originally recorded September 17, 2020)

Moderator: Kim D. French, MHSA, CAPPM, FCCP

Panelists: Scott Manaker, MD, PhD, FCCP; Michael E. Nelson, MD, FCCP; and Kathleen F. Sarmiento, MD, MPH 

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

How Do I Know It’s COVID-19? A Discussion About Available Testing Strategies and Future Directions

As COVID-19 has spread across the world, the ability to understand the spread of the virus in our communities, as well as diagnose the patient right in front of us, has been a challenge. Molecular, antigen, and antibody tests are now widely available, and the FDA recently approved the SalivaDirect test, which offers a rapid and inexpensive option for testing. In this episode, hear from the experts about the current state and future directions for testing for COVID-19. (Originally recorded September 10, 2020)

Moderator: Holly L. Keyt, MD, FCCP

Panelists: Kelly Cawcutt, MD, MS; Charles Dela Cruz, MD, PhD; and Anne Wyllie, PhD

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this episode, a multidisciplinary panel of speakers discusses their experience and summarize the existing consensus statements for managing patients with suspected or confirmed lung cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights of the discussion include:

• The impact of COVID-19 on standard of practice regarding timely diagnosis and staging
• Prioritization strategies related to surgery and invasive diagnostic and staging procedures
• Differences in radiation and systemic treatment strategies between pre-COVID and crisis times
• Alterations to standard treatment strategies based on existing experience and expert panel reports

(Originally recorded September 3, 2020)

Moderator: Septimiu D. Murgu, MD, FCCP

Panelists: Jessica S. Donington, MD, MS; Jyoti Patel, MD; Andreas Rimner, MD; and Gerard A. Silvestri, MD, MS, FCCP

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

Teaching Through Chaos: Fellowship Learning During Pandemic Surges

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of American life, and postgraduate medical education is not an exception. In this episode, pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship directors and their fellows discuss the challenges and opportunities, setbacks, and innovations. (Originally recorded August 27, 2020) 

Moderator: David A. Schulman, MD, FCCP

Panelists: Jennifer Krall, MD; Matthew C. Miles, MD, FCCP; Garrett Rampon, MD; and Geneva B. Tatem, MD, FCCP

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

COVID-19 Clinical Trial Update: Drugs, Vaccines, and Thrombosis

The pace of COVID-19 research continues to move at an unprecedented speed. In this episode, expert panelists present the current state of high-quality data for the practicing clinician. (Originally recorded August 20, 2020)

Moderator: Ryan Maves, MD, FCCP

Panelists: LTC(P) Julie Ake, MD, MSc; Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, MD; and Tamas Szakmany, MD, PhD

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.

COVID-19 in Rural America: Challenges, Solutions, and Tele-ICU Support

This episode outlines the challenges of providing critical care to rural/resource-constrained America and additional issues faced due to COVID-19 as experienced in rural New England and Texas. Experts provide support solutions for patients and providers, including the use of tele-ICU in these settings. (Originally recorded August 13, 2020)

Moderator: James A. Geiling, MD, FCCP

Panelists: Renzo Brown, MD; Vinca W. Chow, MD; Sinan S. Sayood, MD; and Stephen D. Surgenor, MD

For more tools to help in the fight against COVID-19, visit CHEST’s COVID-19 Resource Center at chestnet.org/COVID19.