I am a Giant Fomite

A fomite is the medical term we use for something (usually inanimate) that can transmit infectious organisms; often, neckties, white coats, and stethoscopes are blamed for being fomites. Unfortunately, I've come down with the common cold, but in circumstances like this, it strikes me as strange that doctors are so unwilling to call in sick. We see illness all the time, work with immunocompromised patients, understand the epidemiology of infectious disease, and yet we are reluctant to take care of ourselves when we are struck by the same illnesses. At least I'm on a rotation without direct patient care; on my echocardiography rotation, I don't put patients at too much risk and I can take shorter days when I need it.

But this is a culture that we need to change. Sick people (at least with transmissible diseases) in the hospital should be patients, not providers, especially when most infectious. The system needs to have resources in place such that residents feel that we can take time off without putting too much burden on others.