{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/xk84j0cg12/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Dr. Kay Durst"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/246/original/CenterForHistoryFamilyMedicine_2c_RGB.png?1773344256","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine.  Disclaimer:  The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker’s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice. \u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2021-09-14 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English (primary)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["video"]}},{"label":{"en":["Subject"]},"value":{"en":["Covid-19 (topical term)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Keyword"]},"value":{"en":["Florida","family medicine","telehealth","telemedicine","vaccines","personal protective equipment."]}}],"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eThis item is protected by U.S. copyright and related rights. It is being made available by the Center for the History of Family Medicine as its rights-holder for noncommercial use, including sharing and adapting the work. No permission is required for noncommercial use so long as attribution is provided. All other uses require permission from the Center for the History of Family Medicine. \u0026nbsp;Disclaimer: \u0026nbsp;The views presented in this broadcast are the speaker\u0026rsquo;s own and do not represent those of CHFM or the AAFP Foundation. The information presented is for general, educational, or entertainment purposes and should not be considered legal, health, financial, or other advice.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Center for the History of Family Medicine"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Center for the History of Family Medicine"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/246/original/CenterForHistoryFamilyMedicine_2c_RGB.png?1773344256","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/198/984/small/Durst_Kay%289-14-21%29.mp4_1689794517.jpg?1689794518","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - Durst__Kay_(9-14-21).mp4"]},"duration":3002.08,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/198/984/small/Durst_Kay%289-14-21%29.mp4_1689794517.jpg?1689794518","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/198/984/original/Durst__Kay_%289-14-21%29.mp4?1689794516","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":3002.08,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984/transcript/46431","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Transcript of Dr. Kay Durst interview [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984/transcript/46431/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Crystal Bauer: My name is Crystal Bauer and I am the manager for the Center For The History of Family Medicine. Today is September 13th, 2021. Kay, could you please confirm for the record that you are aware that this is being recorded and that you are giving your permission to do the interview?\n\nKay Durst: Yes and yes.\n\nCrystal Bauer: All right. Would you please give your name in full?\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. I'm Dr. Kay Durst.\n\nCrystal Bauer: What is your present title?\n\nKay Durst: I'm a board certified family physician.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Going farther back, where did you attend medical school?\n\nKay Durst: I graduated from the medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Where did you complete your residency?\n\nKay Durst: I did my internship actually at the University of Florida at the Coral Springs and Fort Lauderdale area. Then I did my other residency at the University of Miami down in Miami, Florida at Jackson Memorial Hospital.\n\nCrystal Bauer: You stayed in the state of Florida?\n\nKay Durst: Yes.\n\nCrystal Bauer: When you finished your residency, could you tell me what the world of family medicine was like?\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. It was definitely different than it is now. Some things were similar but some things were different. I'm in the older school. When I got out, we were still all paper charts. That was very different. We had a few computers but not many, just a few to very remotely get a few labs. That was very different than it is now with electronic medical records and even us doing this call through the Zoom, WebEx, so that was different.\n\nKay Durst: What also was different in the sense that back then, there were no hospitalists. Family medicine doctors were the hospitals. When I got out, I would go to ... If my patient was in the emergency room, I went and met them in the emergency room. I would follow them the whole time they were in the hospital. If my patient had a surgery, let's say, a replaced hip, I would be the one consulted on the surgery. I'd follow the patient after they had the surgery and all the way through.\n\nKay Durst: We also did a lot with hospice in the hospital. Of course, now, you have physicians that are hospitals and are hospice doctors and some of the doctors do a lot but I think that's one of the biggest things ... Oh, of course, we did some house calls too. I think that's one of the biggest things with the new physicians, now that it's 2021, they're coming out are doctors realizing they're hospitalists or ER docs and things and it was very different.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Yeah. It sounds like that. Would you say telemedicine brings back those home visits in a sense because you're seeing the patients' environment at home or ... Probably not the same but ...\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. I love it. I actually did telehealth for three and a half years before COVID so this is my fifth year of it. I'm a third-generation family medicine doctor. Actually, the practice where I am, my grandfather started it. It's been around for 78 years. As a kid, I used to go with my father and my grandfather and my father is a family medicine doctor also, went with him for house calls and all. Even myself, when I started.\n\nKay Durst: I think that was a great thing for family medicine because you would be invited to have the piece of cake and sit and you'd learn so much about a patient and the family. One thing, again, getting back to your question, that I have loved so much of the telehealth as family medicine, I see people's dogs and cats and kids and grandmas and what they're eating and they'll show me their garden and where they are.\n\nKay Durst: Then I see where they ... They're sometimes in their car or traveling. It's very interesting but it brings a great aspect that's kind of fun actually.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Oh, yeah. I bet. Well, coming to the present day, could you speak on your current position and what you do on a day to day basis?\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. I do practice family medicine. I don't go to the hospital anymore. I mainly practice outpatient. I don't see as many babies as I used to but we see mainly six years old or 11 years old, up through 90 something years old. We do a mix of telehealth. I also do a mix of just doing ... Like today, for instance, I did a couple of annual wellness exams through Medicare, which is mainly ask me questions. I did a physical, on top of doing some telehealth on just depression or mental health issues, on top of right now where I am, we are actually number one in the United States for COVID, unfortunately, in South Carolina. I had to take care of some COVID patients on telehealth. Then I had to setup a lot of people through telehealth to go get tested for COVID.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Wow. Just a few things you do on a daily basis, right?\n\nKay Durst: Oh, yeah. It's definitely fun. I always say you can't say you're bored. If you're bored, it's the wrong thing. It definitely makes it challenging but also interesting. On top of computer dying and staff out because of COVID and their kids out because of the schools so it's definitely challenging.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Well, could you speak to how COVID-19 has impacted patients' visits at your practice? Maybe how this year's experience with COVID is different from the onset of COVID last year.\n\nKay Durst: Yes. Well, it is different and I can talk personally. I actually got COVID in March of 2020. I was one of the first physicians in our area. I was involved with ... There wasn't testing, trying to get a test, being isolated, nobody knew about it. I personally went through it, which was very different from now. Back then, there was no treatment. Nobody hardly knew about the disease. That's different.\n\nKay Durst: We're, of course, now, thank goodness, 2021, in September, we have the vaccines so we've had since December ... I got my vaccine back in December. That's very good, 12 and up. The testing is more widely available. You have the home test, which is great. I've had to use that on my family some, just to make sure, but the gold standard is the PCR test. Now there are more places that you can get it, the different pharmacies or at the schools or the different hospitals, or the Department of Health. That's been a very big change. Then we have some treatment with immunotherapy.\n\nKay Durst: But people are still ... It's still a little ... I mean, it's still the unknown. We haven't studied it for many, many years. Seeing the patients, I think one of the hardest things is trying to talk to the patient ... They say, \"I just have an allergy. It's not COVID. I know it's not COVID\" and trying to relay to the patient and maybe, hopefully, it's not but let's test it while you're still trying to set them up for their wellness exams or their mammograms or whatever.\n\nKay Durst: Last year, it was a little easier in some ways because people were quiet and in their home. Now they're trying to go to the football games and be in the school and have regular life but then you have this pandemic. It's different.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure.\n\nKay Durst: For different reasons.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. With the pandemic, have there been any payment issues that have arisen for you?\n\nKay Durst: I think for us, [inaudible] some patients have brought it up but I think through the different companies, it's been good. I have seen not necessarily through my practice, [inaudible] the hospital, but in the area, I'm starting to see some payment issues, some people in the sense that people are starting to pay a lot of money to get tested because if you go to the Department of Health or the other places that are free, now we're so busy again that there's lag time. Then people that want just the test to travel are paying $100 or $200 for it. That's different.\n\nKay Durst: I also noticed before, it was really that we had a lot of setup to help for, I felt, more protected doctors for telehealth and payments to help, especially our Medicare patients, our elderly, that were trapped, they couldn't get out because of the order, there were some problems with the payments for the physicians and then they were able to compensate for that, telephone calls setup, virtual visits.\n\nKay Durst: But now, unfortunately, because of the different regulations, that we're kind of \"out of the pandemic\", legally, but we're not really out of it, we're starting to see some issues with that.\n\nKay Durst: However, I know the Academy of Family Medicine and others have really pushed for that with the telehealth. A lot of the patients, now they've been doing it for a few years so they're more used to that or willing to pay for it.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Another issue last year was having access to testing and supplies. Did you experience shortages last year [crosstalk].\n\nKay Durst: Oh, yes. I mean, even going for myself, trying to get tested because I knew, no matter how careful I was, through somebody, I knew that I was exposed and I couldn't even get tested and then the testing, trying to figure out if it's a false negative and then trying to scramble for that was definitely a problem, and then trying to get the personal protective equipment was even more of a problem, which is why we had more of a shutdown.\n\nKay Durst: Even to this day, unfortunately, there's a problem. Even now, the rapid test in our community, it's difficult to get because we have such a sheer number of volume of patients, it's just not setup for that or hospitals are very busy, we have over 200 and something patients within my hospital I work with, compared to other places. That's just on top of the regular people. That's a lot of extra patients, 200, all with COVID.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Do you foresee those issues getting worse or better in the next few months?\n\nKay Durst: The next few weeks, I think they'll get better. I think overall it's a little better. They're working on trying to get more of the home testing. I think as long as the supply and demand ... If the demand is there, supply is good, and then I think hopefully it'll get better. For right now, it's a little difficult.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. We talked about telemedicine a little bit earlier but could you speak a little more as to how telemedicine has changed in your practice since the pandemic started?\n\nKay Durst: Yes. Well, I did telehealth for a couple of years beforehand. I always was a big proponent of it because I thought it would be the way of the future. Since I experienced hurricanes and issues like that, other disasters, it's a way that you can reach out, if you can get connection or, at least, by phone to help with people.\n\nKay Durst: To get back to your question, is changed ... At the beginning, I would do a lot of telehealth and mainly talk about anxiety medicines or followup. We wouldn't hardly do many sick visits, maybe a rash or something, whereas, of course, now with telehealth, it's not always but a lot of sick visits.\n\nKay Durst: I think it's a great way to manage more triage. It's a way to get a doctor's expertise to triage. I'll sometimes say ... They'll ask me at the end of the day, it's four o'clock, so and so has a question, can you put them on? For that person to get in their car, come to my office, and be seen, then we're closed, I can't but I'm like let's do a telehealth so I can assess the patient and then I can, at least, say, \"Hey, this is limited, I can deal with it\" or I advise you to come over to my office tomorrow, I think it can wait or you need to go to the emergency room.\n\nKay Durst: The other way it's very helpful, especially nowadays, unfortunately, a lot of people think they can't believe they have COVID, even with the vaccine, so they want to come into the office and it's a good way that we can also triage to followup so they don't infect us or staff or infect our other patients. That's been very helpful. I think some of the patients are having ... They don't quite get it but once you explain it to them, it's good.\n\nKay Durst: Another thing that I think ... I have a lot of patients that are scared. They don't want to come in or they're going through cancer treatments and they don't want to come to a doctor's office that's full of other people. They want to stay at home.\n\nKay Durst: Another great way that I use it is I can setup, I can see you, maybe I'm following your diabetes along with your cancer so I can say, \"Hey, Mrs. Jones. Let's follow that but we need to get some blood work so I can put in the computer, this gets a blood work [inaudible] your diabetes\", either I can have home health come do it or they can go to the different labs in the area. I can even set them up to get their mammogram or their bone density test or X-rays.\n\nKay Durst: There's a great way instead of that patient being behind on their preventative wellness, we could do that. Let's say they even cut themselves and then I look on the chart and say, \"Hey, you need a tetanus. Come over, let's just give a quick tetanus with the nurses\" or get it at the local pharmacy.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Yeah. Can you describe how the vaccine rollout was in your practice, in your area, and how your patients' reception was to the vaccine?\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. We got ours mainly through, of course, the healthcare workers, the frontline workers were the first ones to get it, thank goodness. That was in our area in December, January. That was great and, of course, you got the one shot and the other.\n\nKay Durst: Then the reception in most of the people in the area, especially the elderly, because at the time, the COVID was more focused on getting the elderly sick, where it wasn't affecting as many of the young people in general.\n\nKay Durst: When it first came out, a lot of patients wanted to get it but it was not very easy to get the vaccine. People were lining up for hours. I even, myself, for my own family members, even though I'm a physician, I spent hours online trying to book appointments for them. It was like you hit the jackpot if you got it. You were like, \"Oh my God. She got a vaccine place.\" People drove hours to go find a pharmacy that would give it. It was definitely an issue.\n\nKay Durst: Then as time went on, it became more available. Actually, after, first we had Pfizer and then the Moderna and then the Johnson and Johnson. As this became more available and they were more at the other pharmacies, it was easier to get.\n\nKay Durst: Then you had the other wave is when it was recommended for 12 year old and up. First, it wasn't for 12 year old. When that happened, that was a whole other wave. That was like in April or May, everybody trying to get their ... I mean, not everybody but the age groups trying to get it. It was still hard to get. Then a lot of questions about it with the kids and all too.\n\nKay Durst: Then because people were getting it, there were very few side effects. With some people, I had side effects so we learned about that. We learned about the vaccine causing some lymph node involvement [inaudible] abnormal readings that were not true abnormal readings but false readings and mammograms. We talked about that.\n\nKay Durst: I guess the biggest thing now is right at the beginning before the school year and the summer before next wave, so this is our third wave as I'm talking now, is that the vaccine ... We almost had a lot of vaccine because we still have a big group, especially in my area, unfortunately, it's probably about 50% are not vaccinated ... We had some availability of it. Now as this new Delta variant is coming along, we're getting more of the resurgent. There is a little bit more people getting the vaccine.\n\nKay Durst: Now actually this last week, we're starting to get the talk about getting the booster of the vaccine, so getting the third vaccine. That's a whole other ball game, looking at criteria, who meets it, who gets it, what's your criteria? That's an interesting ... It's definitely changing.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. Sure. I'm sure your answer would be different if I asked you this a year from now too.\n\nKay Durst: Oh, yeah. Exactly.\n\nCrystal Bauer: It's an evolving question for sure.\n\nKay Durst: Yes. It always is. Especially as we go forward with the booster, for immunosuppression and then the elderly and then a lot of healthcare workers want to know that we look at, obviously, to date, with COVID, do you have the antibody? Do you not have the antibody? What does that mean? What is the Delta variant? This Mu variant? Every day, it's changing. Then now looking at the kids, are the kids going to be able to get the vaccine?\n\nKay Durst: I think one of the biggest things is the challenge of the vaccine, at least, the Pfizer one having to be frozen, getting it two shots, that has come into play also.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. Sure. Well, big question, could you describe how COVID-19 has impacted your current position as a physician?\n\nKay Durst: It hasn't. Oh, how has it impacted?\n\nCrystal Bauer: Yes.\n\nKay Durst: Oh, a lot. I mean, it's definitely changed the way we practice. It changes ... We're all humans too. We all have families and trends and we're involved in social media and see the news and that's a whole other ball game so that's very disheartening. It's also impacted a lot because most all doctors really ... We promote vaccines, we promote hand washing, we promote the public health and it feels like sometimes you have to fight against trying to get people to get the COVID vaccine that could save their life.\n\nKay Durst: That's very exhausting I guess in a way. Your day is very different than even in the past when you'd be seeing regular patients and now you have this added layer, every patient you see, you talk about the vaccine or COVID and talk about the anxiety and the mental health and the school. It just adds another layer that's affected everybody.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure.\n\nKay Durst: I think it's been also nice, some good things like this program ... I'm glad you guys are doing this. Thank you. I think it's important to look at history and see what can we learn from this? How can we make things better? I think there are a lot of great things in the end that have been made for the better. I think it has changed medicine, in some ways, for the better.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Well, that brings me to my next question on how you see COVID-19 changing the profession of family medicine.\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. Well, I think a lot of things ... I think a lot of the physicians [inaudible] healthcare workers, but since we're talking mainly about family physicians, [inaudible] last year for a while, a lot of people were applauding all the healthcare workers, everything they're doing and that lasted for a little bit but here we are, a year and a half still into it, and we're even worse into it, at least, where I am, than we ever were and we have some great tools to help us but we're also fighting this big tidal wave but we don't necessarily get all the cheers that we used to and the people every day bringing us lunch and all.\n\nKay Durst: I think that's hard and it's frustrating when you have a tool, the vaccine, that could help and masking and it's become such a division in this country. That's been very challenging. I think that for family medicine, some of the ways too ... We still want to be there, I think some of the [inaudible] getting used to ... Like I'm not used to people testing for something at home, right? They now test for COVID at home. Are they doctors? Are they interpreting it right? Did they do it the right time? I think that's very different. Now you can go to your local pharmacy and get a test or some group comes in, a nurse or something, just comes in the house and tests. The schools test now for that and they're testing for strep and flu and all.\n\nKay Durst: That's really different where before, it was kind of in the sacred house of the physician's office, and so that's kind of strange. Vaccines in and of itself, I mean, before, you ... Right before the pandemic, of course, you could get certain vaccines at pharmacies and all but now that's very different. I mean, even at my own practice right now, I don't give the vaccine because of several reasons. I know a lot of family physicians across the country and the world have set it up but we don't. We hopefully in the future will have it. That's a big difference also.\n\nKay Durst: At the same time, some good things that I still think it's important and I hope and that's one reason I'm doing this interview and trying to get out is that we want to get more word out with family physicians or physicians in general, especially family physicians or pediatrics or primary care that are on the forefront to get the word out on how to stop this epidemic and how we can help in the future.\n\nKay Durst: I think it's looking at also too the high risk factors of diabetes and high blood pressure, what has made people sick? Now some person could be healthy and still get COVID and die, unfortunately, but in general, we've found that the people who have more complications are the people with other chronic diseases.\n\nKay Durst: If anything, I think that's also been good. I've had more of my patients realize that, hey, they got the COVID vaccine but they don't want [inaudible] so they're going to work on their diabetes and lose weight and focus on wellness. That's been a great plus. You know? Looking into it.\n\nKay Durst: I think for in the future, as we go further with public health and all, that I think hopefully people realize the doctors were telling the truth, we were there. I think that's important.\n\nKay Durst: A lot of family physicians are hospitalists. They are really there on the front lines, in the emergency room, in the place. I mean, we do a lot of urgent care but I'm not at an urgent care center, I'm not in a hospital. They have a whole different perspective. Mine's from the ...\n\nCrystal Bauer: Outpatient.\n\nKay Durst: Outpatient side. I think that's a difference too. I think a lot of the hospital administrators and all are hopefully, at least, a lot of the ones that I think are doing more good are realizing what's your greatest asset? Your greatest asset in all healthcare is a physician, a leadership in the health [inaudible]. We have to take care of the health. It doesn't matter who you have, if you do not have physicians than all of us are sick and going to die. I think that's very good to recognize that.\n\nKay Durst: I also think because of the issues with the COVID, then the chronic disease is also brought about, mental health issues amongst everybody, but really look at the mental health issues of physicians and I'm very big on trying to get wellness for the physicians. We have to take care of ourselves and our own people and look at wellness and we can go back out there and take care of others. We have to make sure we have the sleep and make sure we take care of our diabetes and lose weight and exercise and mindfulness. You know, eat healthy, limit alcohol.\n\nKay Durst: I think that's been good. We've all been in it together. I see that as a moving target.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. Sure.\n\nKay Durst: I also think the more family physicians out there, getting the word out, doing interviews, writing, I think some people don't really realize what a family physician does. I think even some of the specialists, they know what they do but don't realize that we really are on the front lines taking care of all of that. Especially true family physicians that don't work in an urgent care, I can suture up somebody, I can do a fracture, I can take care of your whole family. We can do all that and that's what's great about family medicine.\n\nKay Durst: I don't but some of the family medicine doctors deliver babies and do different procedures. That's what's great about family medicine.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure.\n\nKay Durst: We're trained in so many aspects and we're very fluid and we can change and we can work with policy makers and do the mundane. We can work with different things. I think also I hope that this technology, which I'm very excited about, the innovation, there's so much technology, this that we're doing tonight, telehealth ... I have patients that I follow with COVID and they check their own pulse ox at home. I might get their pulse ox and do the labs, which before you would never think to do that. As soon as they get out of the hospital, they just need somebody that knows the knowledge and can figure it out and talk about it and kind of a leader. I think that's very exciting.\n\nKay Durst: Also, we have a lot of innovations coming up with glucose meters and blood pressure meters and I know the technology is there. I know that the physicians are there. What we need and what we're working on goes back to your first question, Crystal, with the cost and the payment. You know? I think doctors would be more willing if he pays for a phone call and the emails and refills and all, we will be there, we have a lot of knowledge.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure.\n\nKay Durst: Especially doctors ... I mean, even if you just got out of school but especially the physicians that have been around for a long time. I think it's the knowledge and the wisdom that we can take or doctors that have been through ... Maybe the Army doctors and through a war or the doctors maybe like myself that have been through several hurricanes and several disasters or flooding or whatever. You can apply a lot of the same principles to pandemic.\n\nCrystal Bauer: It's interesting you say that actually because one of my prior interviews, the doctor spoke a lot of the AIDS epidemic and how his treatment of that, those skills that he learned there really came into helping him with COVID-19.\n\nKay Durst: Yes.\n\nCrystal Bauer: He used a lot of those same skills. That makes a lot of sense.\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. For me, personally, we had Hurricane Hugo in 1989 in this area in South Carolina, ruined our house, ruined everything and our practice still was there. We would help ... I worked on the practice but I was out of college at the time but we'd meet people at the street and we'd meet people outside. When I lived in Florida in '05, I went through four different hurricanes and lost my practice without electricity for three weeks. We learned how to reinvent. We went down to the Publix and took the blood pressure and all.\n\nKay Durst: During this pandemic, how can we do it? I've met patients in the parking lot, we've drawn their blood, we've met them in the car, we've gone back out to the houses, the telehealth. The big difference, obviously, is those hurricanes they might affect your loss of material things but you weren't worried about your own health. COVID, you're so worried about your family, your own health, every patient you see, every encounter you have is against your own health and that is the very big difference now.\n\nKay Durst: Again, mine is very different but because I had COVID at the very beginning and I went through almost four to five weeks in my bedroom, by myself with no interaction except for this, not seeing my family or anything, because we were so scared that they would get it and we did everything we could and thank goodness they didn't get it but that was because there was nothing back then. It was the first cases.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Yeah.\n\nKay Durst: Nobody knew. It was very different.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. Yeah.\n\nKay Durst: I think we could take those ... Just to get back and I know you're trying to get that, those instances of where we can look back and move forward and how can we go forward and still practice good medicine, still good preventative, and still health. You know?\n\nCrystal Bauer: No. You've actually I think answered a few of my questions I was going to ask you. I'm going to jump ahead and ask, overall, what have you learned from this pandemic? Big takeaway.\n\nKay Durst: Wow. I think that two of the big takeaways is I think we have to be prepared for another one. This is not going to be the last one. Hopefully, the last one for a little bit but even in this one, it's changed.\n\nKay Durst: I think the other big takeaway is to really take care of personally, myself and burnout. I mean, you can only help so many people. I also think for me, personally, that there's a bigger impact than [inaudible] or interviews or writing the papers and we can try to do.\n\nKay Durst: I guess too is that more for the physicians or family physicians was [inaudible] future, if there's a place more for us with the pharmacies or with the insurance companies or with these big groups because I feel like a lot of the physicians might feel a little left out. They're going to the pharmacy for their vaccine instead of the local family physician's office for whatever reason. That's a little different.\n\nKay Durst: I have great hope. Unfortunately, I think there's going to be a lot of suffering, there's already suffering, going to be more suffering but I think out of that suffering, I think we will rise to new heights and new things. We just celebrated the September 11th and all things like that. I think, obviously, it's a moving target. We don't know the implications of virtual learning with the kids or staying at home and mental health. It's not one-size, fits-all, right?\n\nCrystal Bauer: No.\n\nKay Durst: Definitely not. Other doctors or people do very well with telehealth and have embraced it. Other doctors don't. Telehealth isn't the answer for everything. I know that much. I think some of it too is to get back to the roots of listening to people, seeing people, being there, touching people, I think that's important.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Sure. Who are the people you've worked with most closely during the pandemic? Who impressed you most during the pandemic and why?\n\nKay Durst: Well, of course, I've worked with my own physicians within my practice, one's my father, and the area and the hospital. I think I've also met a lot of great physicians, [inaudible] different things. I look at a couple of big leaders, working with different groups.\n\nKay Durst: I will say this time in family medicine, as I really look to a lot of ... Like our current family medicine president, Dr. Ada Stewart, who I know personally, I look at her and Dr. Jerry Carmen, who is the AMA president of family medicine, I look at how their expertise at being a clinician at these, I want to say, political or governmental arenas, how they're really trying to work on their [inaudible] behind the scenes helping I think that I've been impressed at.\n\nKay Durst: Even the ... I will say, I am going to say I'm just impressed with every physician that's out there on the front line, the ICU doctors, the whatever. You know, them doing that, sharing information, I think that's exciting and important. I guess for me, especially since I had COVID back last year at the beginning, nobody in my community, [inaudible] nobody even knew about it. I was relying a lot on the internet for my colleagues in New York and Seattle and Europe and Italy and I look at all those people, those heroes, that were willing to share, the heroes that got up and have [inaudible] for the doctors for PPE and as most all of us have, what we did, to protect our healthcare workers, not just the doctors. These are the people that I think are amazing.\n\nKay Durst: I mean, even the couple weekends ago, I had to go to the Department of Health, the people that are out there swabbing people every day and the people ... There's so many heroes and wonderful people that we've worked with. I think that the ... Unfortunately, I don't believe that the average person realizes how [inaudible] we are, especially even working with the schools and the health and all.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Are there any views on important issues in the specialty related to COVID-19 that we've not addressed that you'd like to share? Anything we haven't touched?\n\nKay Durst: Yeah. I think one of the biggest things when I was reflecting back on it is I would really like that ... Let's say, the pharmacy does the testing or the [inaudible] does the testing or even my own place does the testing or you do your own testing, [inaudible] would be nice if somebody said do the testing and then get with a family medicine doctor, get a medicine ...\n\nKay Durst: You can do the testing but testing in itself, you have to think of the context. Were you exposed? How were you exposed? What's your feeling? What you did. I think that's a very big thing. I also would really hope that the insurance companies and the governmental politics, the governing board, schools, I really would hope and wish that they would [inaudible] more to physicians, for scientific evidence, to help understand so we could all be safe. You know?\n\nKay Durst: That's what I think going forward, I think there's a big movement with physicians, the family physicians, as a big group, the physicians' mom group, getting out there because we are also the parents and we're sending our kids so not only do we go to work, then we're worried about our kids and the schools not vaccinated and no mask mandate. I think that is a shame and I think that we're going to have a lot of lessons. Definitely you could interview us in another three months, a year, a year would be very interesting to see.\n\nKay Durst: I think a lot of the physicians getting out there and trying to say stuff, a lot of us are worried or scared because of the political backlash of it but I think as more of the groups, as we have seen, have come together and I would like to see more of that. The emergency medicine with the academy of family medicine, pediatrics, the American Medical Association, their basic core values to get together to help us as a whole and I could see that as going forward as an elevation to help bring us together. We're all human, no matter what your racial ethnicity is, your economic social impact ... I didn't even talk about that. That's another whole thing you could talk about is how it's changed or brought out a lot of the problems in the inequality that we already had in medicine or we already had in schools, things that we have been talking about and this has just brought to light.\n\nKay Durst: I think there have been a lot of great changes with it. I think looking back too, starting for me from the beginning of medicine, before I was even a family medicine doctor, once you look at the medical schools, how are they run, looking at wellness, looking at good health, taking care of that, how can we prevent every disease? How can we prevent more diabetes and all? Not just a pill. Why don't we look at wellness?\n\nKay Durst: I think that's the great thing I see that's going to be coming, hopefully, in the next few years or generations that I will see will be ... Hopefully, will be there and somebody will look back and say, \"Aha, wow. Let's do it.\" I would love to see hospitals be only a place that you go for surgery when you need to, not for all the heart attacks ... I mean, of course, yes, you have it but, first, let's look at wellness centers and fitness centers and mental health and things like that.\n\nKay Durst: Also, I guess with the pandemic is the mental health aspect, like telehealth, like trying to get back with being in the forefront and looking at whether it's the physicians, the students, the patients but really developing different backbones that help weave and intercept so when people want help, they can get help. It's not waiting three months to see a specialist or a psychiatrist or psychologist. I think we need to get ... Or seeing a family medicine doctor. You know? I think we need to get out of that. I think there's some great opportunities about that.\n\nCrystal Bauer: All great thoughts. Any last thoughts you'd like to add? This is your opportunity to share your thoughts with future generations listening to this or set the record straight on anything you feel might be important to address.\n\nKay Durst: I think it just says a lot of the same things. I think as more physicians, unfortunately, did have COVID and, unfortunately, my colleagues, unlike me, that survived COVID, that passed away, I think if we could look at their stories, some of them are on Facebook and all, and see how we could do better to help the next person, I think that's important.\n\nKay Durst: I really would like to see, like I said, the insurance companies and different people realize the value of family medicine, how we can prevent this, how to ask us to be leaders. We are already leaders. Let us be more leaders at the table to help. I think that's very important.\n\nKay Durst: I also think to realize our worth. We need everybody in the health team, right? We need everybody from the receptionist to the transporter to the nurse to the radiology tech to the cafeteria ... We need everybody. I think we also need to realize that we need the leadership and the physicians and realize there is a difference in the education of a family medicine physician or a training or any physician that goes through four years of regular college in the United States, at least, and then four years of medical school and then three years minimum of residency, how many hours that that is coming to play where somebody ... I do not believe that we can equate ourselves the same as somebody just getting out of school [inaudible] don't know.\n\nKay Durst: I think it's important in the sense that doctors would like to, again, talk to people or answer emails and all but I think we should be compensated for it.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Oh, yeah.\n\nKay Durst: We have a lot of knowledge. We're willing to share it. I think we need to look onto it. I know there's a big push for quality and I think that's very important and I've been excited about that. I hope it's more for a good of helping ... Like I tell my staff and my patients, not just getting the five stars, it's the quality, right? To make sure you have your mammogram and all. This is a person. Has somebody really talked to them about how that one mammogram could save their life, that one colonoscopy. I think that's important and there's a lot of opportunity for that, especially for family physicians. I hope that it comes back to the core value and not dispersed by getting your vaccine at the pharmacy or the pharmacist or the insurance company does. I hope it's coming together.\n\nKay Durst: I hope that the innovators that are out there, that I'm involved with some of them, are looking at ... For physicians to use our mind and our intelligence and our expertise at the top ... As they say, the top of your ladder. I could see maybe 100 patients a day. You just asked me and I figured out what I get bogged down with and a lot of physicians is the electronic medical records. We didn't go to medical school ... I mean, we went for many different reasons but to heal people and do it and you have physicians that are out there, that have been practicing for 40 years, 30 years, and they just want to give up because of electronic medical records.\n\nKay Durst: trI wish there's a way with technology or Siri or whatever that everything is there so the physician can get back to seeing that patient, diagnosing, getting it done and all because that's what the years of training do to our brain. We've been trained for so many years, somebody presents, you can say it's this, this, and this, get it in but what takes away from that is to type, type, type.\n\nKay Durst: I'm thinking with everything, it's going to be kind of exciting, kind of like Star Trek, you get the wand and it's like here's your blood sugar. [inaudible]. You know? Here's the thing. You get this. Here's the X-ray. Here's the ultrasound. It's all in there. You know? I think a little bit of the artificial intelligence will come, however, it should not replace a doctor but you might be able to put in ... They have now all of the algorithms, these are my symptoms, what do I have? You know?\n\nKay Durst: Not taking away from the human touch and all. You know? So many CAT scans or things, it's like you still come in, you feel a mass or you see something different.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Yeah. [crosstalk].\n\nKay Durst: That's mainly it. I hope we also ... Besides the physicians that are practicing, that we really embrace the medical students that are there, that we really embrace the disparities with women and different social, economic, and ethnicity issues and highlight these students at a young age to make it better. I mean, it shouldn't be, \"Oh, I'm a family physician, do you want your child to be a doctor? No way.\" Unfortunately, that's how it was and is. I mean, was/is. I mean, lately. I see a new thing that's coming is that some of the ...\n\nKay Durst: They're saying now more people are trying to get into medicine because of the pandemic. They see their families suffering and they want to get and make a difference. I think if we have a great background and listen to these young people and help elevate them and get them so that we see more doctors like them. You know? So they can go into their neighborhoods, wherever they are in the city, in the rural country and whatever, and reach out to the community and really help. You say, \"Wow. Look at that person. They were a doctor like that.\" I think that's important.\n\nKay Durst: There are a lot of great people doing wonderful podcasts, you guys doing this, that's out there, YouTube, Facebook, the people say, \"Hey, it's an exciting time. Let's put this science and the technology with the skill of the surgeon or the family medicine doctor for prevention\" or their skill and I think that's exciting.\n\nKay Durst: Then the invention with medicines. I mean, medicines ... We need medicine, right? Looking at how in the future maybe you take an ibuprofen, I take ibuprofen, but they're totally different because now we've found out more our bodies are different.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Yeah.\n\nKay Durst: That's exciting. I hope that also the people that listen to this, whoever it is, the medical students or people in family medicine, residency, that they get involved with the foundation and the academy of family medicine and help promote that and be out there and be a voice. I think people will realize that they can be a voice for the goodness of all.\n\nCrystal Bauer: Well, thank you. If you have nothing else to add, I'll go ahead and conclude our interview. Thank you so much for your time in doing this and sharing your experience with the pandemic.\n\nKay Durst: You're welcome.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://centerforthehistoryoffamilymedicine.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2334/collection_resources/100627/file/198984#t=0.0,3002.08"}]}]}]}