LibGuides: COVID-19 Resource Portal: COVID-19 Narratives

COVID-19 Narratives

There are many stories to be told by those working, living and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stories of grief, hope, anger and joy... Here are a few for you to experience. Learn of the firsthand experiences of learners, healthcare providers, patients and community members with the collection of personal narratives below. Is there a resource you would like to recommend? Email jessica.babineau@uhn.ca with your recommendations.

Visit the Valuable Voices: Stories in Healthcare for more personal accounts of health and health care experiences.

Want to Share Your Story?

Some organizations are collecting stories of the pandemic, in an effort to chronicle the range of experiences of Covid-19. Here are organizations that are creating digital archives where you can share your story.

Canada During COVID-19: A Living Archive
This Instagram based public archive is maintained by Historica Canada. It is meant to capture the experiences of everyday Canadians as they live through this challenging time. Canadians from coast to coast to coast and of all ages and walks of life are encouraged to submit to the archive – photographs, poems, videos, pieces of writing.
A Journal of the Plague Year: An Archive of COVID-19
The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies of Arizona University invites you to share your experience and impressions of how COVID-19 has affected our lives, from the mundane to the extraordinary, including the ways things haven't changed at all. Share your story in text, images, video, tweets, texts, Facebook posts, Instagram or Snapchat memes, and screenshots of the news and emails--anything that speaks to paradoxes of the moment.

TeamUHN Experiences

Debra's Story of Teaching and Learning
An experience of partnering with two learners in a one-to-two model of supervision.
Clare and Jaan's Story of Teaching and Learning
A team's learning experiences in shifting cardiac rehab programming on-line.
The biggest lesson is that we are stronger together
From the UHN Pandemic Perspectives series. "Dr. Joy Richards and Dr. Brian Hodges write that the key to the future of the hard-hit long-term care sector is not dismantling it. It is also not having UHN and other health networks take it over. The key is partnerships."
‘I fear that once the crisis of COVID fades, the public will forget us’
From UHN's Pandemic Perspectives series. “We scientists have to do a better job of communicating beyond our bubble, of sharing the excitement and impact of what we do and how we work,” writes Dr. Brad Wouters in the latest Pandemic Perspectives essay. “Because the support for science and the important work that we do ultimately comes from the public.”
‘It was like the first flame of a lit match, dramatic and unpredictable’
From UHN Pandemic Perspective series. Dr. Fayez Quereshy was only a few months into the role of Clinical Vice President, UHN, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. “My learning curve exponentially increased,” he says.
‘We must take care of each other’
From UHN Pandemic Perspectives series. Lyn Gaetz, a UHN Patient Partner, says COVID-19 has pushed anxiety levels “through the roof,” so patients need as much information as they can get, in as easy and accessible a way as possible, to lower stress levels for themselves, and for staff.
'Don’t call me a superhero if you expect that to mean I don't need help'
From UHN Pandemic Perspectives series. Dr. Dawn Lim, UHN Emergency physician, says being called a superhero leaves some healthcare workers little room to show their vulnerability and ask for help with their mental well-being.
'I saw fleeting moments no one remembers': One ER doctor's photos from the coronavirus frontlines
"What the COVID-19 pandemic looks like through the lens of emergency room doctor Dawn Lim"
‘Working with tunnel vision, looking through a blurred lens’
"This new uniform of sorts, that traps heat and mutes all conversation, takes a toll emotionally and physically." Dr. Brant Slomovic of the UHN Emergency Department uses a phone in a sandwich bag to chronicle “The New Normal” for frontline staff.
Stuck in the Middle: Student Perspectives on Communication during COVID-19
The latest issue of MICH, the Student Journal of the Michener Institute, is a series of responses from students who are dealing with the implication and meaning of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Life in the time of COVID - Reflections from Front-Line Healthcare Providers was developed by the The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The video provides a lens into the lived experiences and gives insights from many healthcare professionals at UHN during this unprecedented time.

Learner Experiences

Morning Thoughts on Day 7 of COVID-19 Social Isolation by Jennifer Siegel, BA
From Annals of Internal Medicine's Annals Graphic Medicine. Illustration by Jennifer Siegel, BA
COVID Cataclysms: Coronavirus Through a Medical Student's Microscope by William H. Schifeling
From Annals of Internal Medicine's Annals Graphic Medicine. William H. Schifeling is a third-year medical student at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.

Healthcare Provider Experiences

As a doctor, I’m bracing for the possibility my home and hospital worlds may collide during the pandemic by Nathan Gray
From the Los Angeles Times. On life at the hospital v. life at home as a palliative care doctor in this moment. Nathan Gray is an assistant professor of medicine and palliative care at Duke University School of Medicine and an artist who draws comics on medical topics.
The Beach by Michael Shen, MD
From MedHumChat. Illustrated experience of a healthcare provider, patent and family member by Michael Shen, artist and Internal Medicine resident at NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
The COVID-19 Playlist by Grace Farris MD
From NPR. How hospitals turn To Alicia Keys, U2 And The Beatles to sing patients home. Dr. Grace Farris is chief of hospital medicine at Mount Sinai West in Manhattan.
Covid Commute Poem by Christopher Goodwin
From Temple University. Dr Goodwin works in Ocucpational Health. He writes verse as a means to process his own emotions and feelings during the pandemic. This poem about his scooter ride every morning to the hospital.
Love in the Time of Coronavirus by Erin Narewski, DO
From Temple University. Erin Narewski is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine attending physician and assistant professor at Temple. Erin talks about her experience serving as an attending pulmonary and critical care physicians caring for COVID-19 patients.
On Isolation: Gowns and Glass by Krystle M. Leung MD
From the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. doi:10.1111/jgs.16463.
Poem by Brittney Campagnolo, RN
From Timmins Today. Brittney Campagnolo is a nurse at Cambridge Memorial Hospital and Sick Kids in Toronto. She has shared her thoughts and experiences of the past few weeks in a heartfelt, raw and honest poem
Reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic (E-book) pdf
"‘A collection of 29 chapters with interesting and personal accounts from expert radiographers/radiological technologists from around the world."
Shared Trauma by Michael Shen, MD
From MedHumChat. Illustration by Michael Chen, artist and Internal Medicine resident at NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
Today I Held His Hand Poem by Doug Rae, RN
From Global News. Doug Rae is an ICU outreach nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Doug's poem shares his experience caring for a palliative patient.
True Tales From the Outbreak: Life in the Hot Zone by Alex Thomas, MD
From the Annals of Internal Medicine's Annals of Graphic Medicine. Alex Thomas, MD is a pediatric allergist/immunologist and a cartoonist and illustrator.
True Tales From the Outbreak: Telemediocrity by Alex Thomas, MD
From the Annals of Internal Medicine's Annals of Graphic Medicine. Alex Thomas, MD is a pediatric allergist/immunologist and a cartoonist and illustrator.
What I Learned From COVID-19 (Until Now) by Lucia Briatore, MD, PhD, Illustrated by Ilaria Pozzi
From Annals of Internal Medicine's Annals Graphic Medicine. Lucia Briatore, MD, PhD, is an internist and diabetologist working in Pietra Ligure, Savona, Italy. Ilaria Pozzi is a freelance illustrator in Savona, Italy.

Patient Experiences

My Patients are in the Hospital, Yet so Alone. How Isolation is Complicating Care During the Pandemic by Nathan Gray
From the Los Angeles Times. An Op Ed by Nathan Gray shows the impact of isolation on patients in hospital during COVID-19. Gray is an assistant professor of medicine and palliative care at Duke University School of Medicine and an artist who draws comics on medical topics
Covid-19 Diary by Jason Chatfield
New Yorker cartoonist Jason Chatfield’s visual telling of his experience with Covid-19.

Community Experiences

Pandemic: Four Cartoonists on Life After Lockdown by The Response
From The Nib. Four cartoonists illustrate their experiences during COVID-19 distancing measures.
Some Thoughts and Images From an Artist Working to Find Mental Health Balance During a Pandemic by William J. Doan, BA, MFA, PhD
From the Annals of Internal Medicine's Annals Graphic Medicine. William J. Doan, BA, MFA, PhD is Director of the Arts and Design Research Incubator at the Pennsylvania State University, serving as an artist-in-residence in the College of Nursing and the 2019-2020 Penn State Laureate.
Sense Memory by Lian Chang
From The Nib. Lian Chang works as a digital design director at The New York Times.

More COVID-19 Narrative Repositories

Include-Me.ca COVID-19 Stories
Include-Me.CA is a social movement powered by people with disabilities. Their microsite focused on COVID-19 includes stories shared by persons with disabilities in Canada.
Graphic Medicine COVID-19 Comics
A repository of COVID-19 comics that are educational, social justice oriented, humorous/coping, or a combination of any and all of the above.
COVID-19 Narratives
From the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh. A repository of COVID-19 narratives from medical students, healthcare providers and those living and working during the pandemic.
The Kids Write
Kids tell their stories about life during COVID-19