Our Frontline Worker of the Week is… Dr. Balram Doodnauth

Jul 12, 2020 News

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“We are a very diverse people with tremendous capabilities and if we work hard in service to each other we will overcome the greatest obstacles.”

By Sharmain Grainger

The word hero in recent months has become quite common place. In fact, just about everyone working on the frontlines, across the globe in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has been described as ‘an hero’, especially those within the health care system.

But some have questioned whether these hard-working people should be afforded the title of hero?
One of the several definitions offered by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is that “a hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” Taking this definition into consideration, we can safely conclude that indeed it is apt to label those within the health sector, heroes.
Many within the health system, from cleaners to doctors, have been working beyond the call of duty in the fight against COVID-10 – one of the most contagious diseases known to mankind. They continue to do this daily by essentially putting themselves in harm’s way, for the virus causing COVID-19, like so many other threats they face, is not one that they can see coming. Moreover, it takes a great amount of courage to knowingly face such a gargantuan threat to help protect others.
Can you, for a second, imagine all the health workers, overwhelmed with fear (and they must fight fear daily), decided that they would stay away from work in order to protect themselves and family thereby allowing a COVID-19 onslaught? Our 700,000 odd population would quickly be annihilated. But, with each passing day, it becomes pellucid that despite challenges, those within the health system are resilient and unwilling to let our existence grind to a halt without putting up the most valiant of fights.
At all cost they press on and indeed are making a massive impact evident by the small number of deaths, though far too many, and the increasing recoveries our nation has recorded. Letting up, they know all too well will mean a win for COVID-19 and they are not prepared to take that chance and we here at Kaieteur News salute them for that.
Moreover, for the past few months, we have been doing our part to recognise some of these heroes. Though our pages are not nearly enough to appreciate these outstanding and selfless characters, we do hope, that in some small way, we are motivating them to faithfully rally on in the quest to save lives and help reduce the spread of the dreaded disease.
UNIMAGINABLE
While they might have ambitiously dared to delve into the field of health care in order to help save lives, quite a few of our heroes have confessed that they never imagined, during their lifetime, having to deal with a threat of such daunting proportions. It is no secret that anyone could be susceptible to infection, hence constant reminders are echoed for persons to safeguard themselves, and others, by continually practicing social and physical distancing, cough and sneeze etiquette and mask wearing.

When all attempts at safeguarding one’s self fail, it is on the health care workers that we rely. Among those playing the hero in the fight against COVID-19 is a medical practitioner and dedicated son of the soil named Balram Doodnauth. “It fills my heart to be a servant in this beautiful country,” he readily quipped recently.
But he could have easily become a cricketer had circumstances not swayed him in the direction of health care. The elder of two children born to Tulsie Doodnauth, a carpenter, and his wife Nandranie, on November 22, 1984, Dr. Doodnauth, our featured frontline worker, grew up at Lima on the Essequibo Coast. He attended the Danielstown Nursery School and then Sparta Primary before moving on to the Anna Regina Multilateral School to complete his secondary education.
COMPASSIONATE
Back then, playing cricket was definitely one of his favourite pastimes. But there was yet another passion he simply couldn’t shake. “I always wanted to help people. Even as a child I would put everyone before me,” said Dr. Doodnauth. It was this very trait that would help to steer him into the heroic profession he now finds himself.
Reflecting on a younger version of himself, he revealed “as a teenager I had typhoid fever and my mom took me to a private doctor and we couldn’t pay for the full course of treatment so the doctor only gave us half. I started to think of all the other people, like me, who couldn’t full their prescriptions.” To the young Balram Doodnauth becoming a doctor was the ideal career path to tread if he was truly going to help others. “In every career one is able to help others but being a doctor allows me to connect with people more than the physical,” he confided.

It came as no surprise to his parents when he shared his desire to become a doctor. His journey to becoming the doctor he is today started in Santiago, Cuba and continued with a master’s in emergency medicine at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). The latter programme is conducted in collaboration with the Vanderbilt Medical Center of the United States and the University of Guyana. Aptly trained, Dr. Doodnauth has been functioning as an Emergency Room (ER) physician for the past four years at the GPHC.
VERSATILE PROFESSIONAL
In his current capacity, he explained “we deal with all types of emergencies ranging from trauma to psychiatric for all ages – from newborn to the elderly. The emergency room is the face of the hospital. It’s where all the unstable and undifferentiated patients present, some via referral, by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) or as walk-ins.”
According to him, “the initial assessment and management of the patient will determine the overall outcome. As such it is important to always think of the worst thing that can happen to the patient. Our mantra is saving lives, limbs and sight.”
His days are often filled with “excitement and challenges” since, according to Dr. Doodnauth, “we never know what will show up at our doors or how many referrals will come. But the uncertainties ignite me to supervise a team that attends to 75 to 100 patients on every 12-hour shift.”
PURPOSE DRIVEN
Although part of his existence is to be husband to a “gorgeous woman” called Melissa and father to “two amazing daughters” – Aniyah, 9, and Kadisha, 7, Dr. Doodnauth is convinced that each individual has a greater purpose in life. He is of the firm belief that “it is my purpose to provide healthcare”.
As he, with conviction, expounded that health is a nation’s wealth and that health care workers like himself have an essential role to play, especially during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, he quite candidly admitted that being the hero does in fact comes with some struggles. There are some innermost fears that must be fought daily, Dr. Doodnauth confessed, as he pondered on the contagious nature of COVID-19. “It is a scary thought of carrying it home to my wife and kids, but then I think of all the decompensated hypertensive or diabetics and the possible heart attacks or polytraumas and I push the fears aside and gear up with my PPE,” in the fervent quest to help save a few more lives.
Dr. Doodnauth has a crucial role in the ER at the country’s main COVID-19 facility – the GPHC. In the ER he is one of the doctors tasked with dealing with unstable patients with respiratory issues – one of the symptoms that COVID-19 patients are known to manifest. Some of these patients, he explained, arrive as emergency cases and others are sent to the ER after they would have been screened by health workers at a screening unit set up near the East Street entrance of the hospital. Once these patients are referred to the ER it means that they require oxygen or other forms of therapy, Dr. Doodnauth revealed, pointing out that “we are equipped with the skills and knowledge to acutely manage and stabilize these patients. We go as far as intubating and placing them on ventilators if there is a need before the patient is transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
It is no small task to be an ER doctor especially since, according to Dr. Doodnauth, “every patient that walks through the door is considered to have COVID-19 until proven otherwise.” For this reason, his appeal to all members of the public is to “take all precautions… wear a mask when in public; we are given the opportunity to do a small task that will make a huge difference.”
Although Guyana may be plagued with many challenges, perhaps even more than many nations, Dr. Doodnauth is of the firm view that “We are a very diverse people with tremendous capabilities and if we work hard in service to each other we will overcome the greatest obstacles.”
But once he gets through with his role of helping to save lives, his heart yearns for home at Farm, East Bank Demerara where his girls eagerly await his safe return. “Home is where the heart is. I have a role as an ER physician at work but at home I have a role as a father and husband. I’m very disciplined with my roles and make few exceptions,” he confided.
Given the great demand for this time since COVID-19 entered our shores, Dr. Doodnauth admitted that finding time for family can at times be very difficult. “Our job is very demanding. After a 12-hour shift in the ER one can be physically and mentally drained” but he has long learnt the importance of prioritizing.
Moreover, when he is not working, he finds times to “enjoy doing projects at home with my kids… I like woodworking and gardening” also, he revealed, “I try to read at least one new page each day”.
For being a dedicated doctor on the frontline waging war against the dreaded COVID-19 threat, we say a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Balram Doodnauth, ‘Our Frontline Worker of the Week’.

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