An accumulation of distress: Grief, loss, and isolation among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article draws on the journal entries of 62 healthcare professionals (HCP) in the United States and Canada who participated in the Pandemic Journaling Project (PJP) during 2020–2021. The HCP in this article represented healthcare fields including medicine, nursing, physical therapy, social work, and clinical psychology. In their journal entries, HCP provided accounts of witnessing the death and bereavement of their patients and loved ones; experiencing their own loss of loved ones and important milestones; facing isolation from their networks and places of meaning; and juggling increasing workloads and caregiving activities. I illustrate how these four areas were impacted by guilt, duty, ethical deliberations, and gender disparities. I argue that HCP face an accumulation of distress when they witness grief and face loss without space to process these experiences.