doi:10.7916/07zk-fr63Oral history interview with Tricia Brentjens, 2020Brentjens, Tricia, 1967-oral historiesmixed materialAnesthesiologistsCOVID-19 Pandemic, 2020-COVID-19 (Disease)--Social AspectsEpidemics--Social AspectsHospitals--Emergency services--United StatesCOVID-19 (Disease)--Health aspectsBlack lives matter movementUnited States Politics and government 21st centuryBrentjens, Tricia, 1967-Columbia University Medical CenterIn 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 early 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