"The Unsung Warriors"
Dr Zaib Un Nisa
Chief Resident , Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
(January, 2022 - Present)
Year 4 Resident, Section of Chemical Pathology
At the beginning of 2020, I had just entered my second year of postgraduate residency training in Chemical Pathology at Aga Khan University. After my first year of learning to get used to the ropes, I was slowly getting used to the grueling routine of residency. I naively thought I was ready for the challenges that would come my way, but little did I know that something as unpredictable as COVID-19 was on the cards. 
When a nationwide lockdown was announced, it seemed like we were thrown into an apocalypse. Initially, I was among those staff members who were detached from routine laboratory work due to limited staff attendance subsequent to the lockdown. Even though I enjoyed the brief unplanned break and stayed with my family in my hometown of Quetta, I was virtually connected to the laboratory and performed my required duties. Attending lectures and regular staff trainings online was also anxiety inducing as none of us were prepared for this shift to digitalization, but ultimately we learned how to cope with the change.
When I returned to my workplace in April, I felt like I was stepping into a prison. The environment that I had gotten accustomed to working in was functioning in a limited capacity. From my perspective as a human, I could see how the lockdown had created psychological insecurities in patients about visiting a laboratory which could act as a high-risk environment for catching disease.
However, as a front-line warrior I could also observe how the patient inflow had been affected. Like all laboratories, AKUH clinical laboratory also had a critical role to play in the diagnosis and surveillance of COVID from the beginning, however, it also acted as a referral center for COVID-19 testing, and thus catered to test requests from across the country. This resulted in the phlebotomy staff frequently falling short. Many of our junior residents were called to perform nasopharyngeal swab testing in the on-site COVID testing area, which also affected our residents’ on-call rota. A sense of doom hung heavy over our heads as all of us were among those highly exposed, and the masked faces of friends merely looked like a magnified COVID-19 machine. As a hostelite, my mobility was doubly restricted, and communication with peers and friends was extremely limited, which added to the depressing emotions. The gym and sports track that I previously used to unwind at was also closed and going back to my hostel room only reminded me of what challenges the next day had in store for me. It felt like there was no break.
But ultimately, I realized that COVID was here to stay. And when I begrudgingly accepted the change I found that it became more palatable. In my fellow residents, I found long-lasting friendships. Our ability to quickly think of solutions and create opportunities out of disruptions even surprised us as we were able to knock problems out of the park.
I am now in my fourth year of residency as the Chief Resident, in my final tuning to become a chemical pathologist. I strongly believe that the roadblocks that COVID-19 threw our way have prepared me for all kinds of unpredictability. Show me a river, I’ll make it an ocean, throw me a rock, I’ll make it a tunnel!
