Oral history interview with Tricia Brentjens, 2020
Abstract
In the first session, Tricia Brentjens describes experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Brentjens describes the speed at which the pandemic hit, having just returned from a trip to Morocco with family friends when all elective surgeries were cancelled. Topics addressed in the session discussed include her experiences working in the intensive-care unit, having COVID herself in the pandemic's earl y weeks, patient loads, and volunteer staff. In the second session, Brentjens provides updates on her family, and she reflects on the conditions in the ICU at that juncture of the pandemic and how hospital has returned to relatively normal activities. Brentjens also talks about politics including masking and closures, the nature of policing, and protests. Brentjens took up horseback riding lessons between sessions, and describes its positive impact
Anesthesiologists; COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-; COVID-19 (Disease)--Social Aspects; Epidemics--Social Aspects; Hospitals--Emergency services--United States; COVID-19 (Disease)--Health aspects; Black lives matter movement; United States Politics and government 21st century; Brentjens, Tricia, 1967-; Columbia University Medical Center
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
85 pages
Note (Biographical)
Tricia Brentjens is an anesthesiologist and intensivist at Columbia University Medical Center. Brentjens lives in Short Hills, New Jersey
Note
Interviewed by Liza Zapol on June 15 and October 15, 2020
Note (Provenance)
Tricia Brentjens, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023