Healthcare Technology Featured Article

January 29, 2021

The changes taking place in the United Kingdom and the United States relating to COVID-19




With the Coronavirus pandemic taking the world by storm at the beginning of 2020, there were some significant changes that people and world Governments had to adapt to. Since there wasn’t a cure to the virus, the Government implemented specific rules that had to be followed in public so people would be safe, reducing their chances of catching the virus. When the number of cases of people with the Coronavirus would spike, the UK would push for a national lockdown to keep the people safe. Since the beginning of the pandemic, they implemented some significant changes and restrictions relating to shutting the borders, along with strict travel restrictions.

Lockdowns meant people were not allowed to leave their homes and could only head out for essential services.

The United States also had restrictions on moving outdoors from one place to another, and the companies and businesses were allowed to stay open. Public dining and restaurants, for the most part, had to stay shut, while open-air venues were entertaining small groups of people. There were rules about the number of people who could meet in a specific area and the types of jobs and companies that could be running. They also added rules about whether people could meet in the office, with US states implementing them to varying degrees. Similarly, when the UK went into its second lockdown, it implemented the rule of six, so no more than six people could meet in public.

Working as a medical practitioner or doctor in the UK is usually seen as a significant achievement, for a wide range of reasons including, India and Britain have the same roots of medicine, the same textbooks in most medical colleges, similar references, and a smooth knowledge transfer, making the system very easy to adapt to. Additionally, the NHS or National Health Services currently in place to look after the people in the EU is seen as one of the best health care systems to work for in the world.

 

With many people affected by COVID-19, the healthcare systems in both the US and the UK were quite overwhelmed. They were not sure if their hospitals could support that large an intake of patients and if they had enough doctors to assist with all of them. The Governments were pushing to get more people into the medical field, but they had to follow many rules and regulations if they were planning on joining as medical practitioners. Furthermore, since the start of the pandemic, doctors, along with people assisting in the medical profession were working longer hours and getting through intense work schedules since they were understaffed and there were lives on the line.

To the start of the pandemic, across the world people were not sure how they were going to get through. There was no cure to the virus, and doctors did not have enough information about it to know how to deal with it. There were changes and challenges that they were constantly adapting to and passing the details to the public.

Fortunately for all, there is a cure distributed across the US with doctors and medical professionals being the first to receive it. They have already started distributing the same to the public and have finished giving a large chunk of the population, the first dose.

However, having the right team assisting through the entire process is one of the most primary requirements when getting through the pandemic. When selecting a team of medical practitioners or doctors in the UK, their employers had to make sure they provided a background

 check. They wanted proof that the people they were working with did not have a criminal record. Additionally, there were specific requirements they had to get through since they were working in the medical field where they were interacting and coming in contact with people of different ages. Other than past criminal records, background checks provide information on whether a person deals well with other age groups of people, whether from the youngest to the oldest or if they had experienced in the past that means that they shouldn’t interact with them.

There were many challenges doctors were facing during the pandemic, with the most significant one being that there wasn’t a speciality of dealing with the Coronavirus. With people catching the

 virus and a shortage of doctors who could assist with the process, others in the medical field had to pull up their socks and help in any way that they could. Many doctors were complaining that they were not happy about the changes that were taking place, but they made peace with it since they were doing their part to assist with the pandemic. The other challenging part of the process

 

was that most doctors were unsure about dealing with the virus and focused on tackling the symptoms that would come up. The idea was to end up in a place where they solved the issue they were facing.

About 2,500 new emergency medicine doctors enter the workforce each year in the United States. With the pandemic, however, they are ironically struggling to find a job. The US is in dire need of as many doctors, paramedics, and medical practitioners as possible but is unsure of the changes they have to get through or whether they would be in line for a job after getting through and markets opening the following year. In a strange turn of events, doctors have begun applying for additional courses, learning new streams and other information that they can use to get through a difficult and challenging time. The Coronavirus pandemic not only made changes within the job market for doctors but across the board and most people are in some way or another struggling to find work, with a large number of businesses and companies shutting down even if they are unconnected to the medical field.



Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]




SHARE THIS ARTICLE



FREE eNewsletter

Click here to receive your targeted Healthcare Technology Community eNewsletter.
[Subscribe Now]