Open AccessA Positive Attitude to Negate a False Positive Test Result: An Intern’s Experience with COVID-19
Author(s) -
Vanessa N. Youmbi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of medical students
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2076-6327
DOI - 10.5195/ijms.2020.526
Subject(s) - covid-19 , anxiety , test (biology) , pandemic , psychological intervention , isolation (microbiology) , psychology , medicine , clinical psychology , disease , psychiatry , virology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , outbreak , paleontology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
I recount my experience as an intern in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the COVID-19 pandemic. I received a patient who was presumed to have COVID and was isolated. The first test result was a false positive, so I was discharged. Although I was not infected by COVID-19, I was adversely affected by it. The anxiety of waiting for test results and isolation are both mentally challenging. Also, COVID-related stigmatization is a serious complication of the disease. Targeted psychological interventions should prevent all three.