Our Frontline Worker is… Dr. Esan Reid

May 16, 2021 News

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“In order to guarantee the best outcome for our patients, it requires a lot of dedication, not only to the patients themselves, but also to the ever-evolving world of medicine.”

By Sharmain Grainger

When Esan Abiose Reid decided to opt for a career in medicine over one in the aviation sector, he’d essentially volunteered himself for a life of sleepless nights, laced with empathy and dedication. Today he has no regrets even though medical professionals are now faced with one of the most contagious diseases that those within the field have ever encountered.
A doctor for the past 12 years, he is currently a senior registrar who operates in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Dr. Reid has held that position for five years now and noted during a recent interview with this publication, that “in order to guarantee the best outcome for our patients, it requires a lot of dedication, not only to the patients themselves, but also to the ever-evolving world of medicine.” For this reason, he said that doctors need to be up-to-date with the best practices in Medicine.
This is especially important for Dr. Reid in this time of COVID-19 since he is “either a supervising doctor or a doctor who is the primary care provider for COVID-19 positive patients in the A&E.” His emergency medicine training and 11 years of experience in the emergency department, has made him quite suitable for these demanding roles. Added to this, he asserted, “we’ve befriended technology and there is no going back.”
When asked what keeps him committed in these trying times, Dr. Reid confessed, “it’s simple, the love for the profession.” Moreover, it shouldn’t be any surprise to those who know him well that he is being featured as our Frontline Worker of the week since the love he has for the profession has helped to make him an outstanding medical practitioner, whose dedication has been amplified amid the on-going pandemic.

 

CHOOSING MEDICINE
On February 1, 1982, Dr. Reid, then a bouncing baby boy, was ushered into the world by his parents Patrick and Muret Reid. He was the first of five children the couple’s union produced.

His primary level schooling was at the Eccles Primary before he moved on to the St. Stanislaus College and then Queen’s College to complete his secondary education. Dr. Reid recalled quite vividly that playing cricket, basketball and participating in athletics were among his favourite pastimes during those days.
When asked about his career choice, he intimated, “I initially wanted to become a pilot, however, after speaking with a relative, I became interested in medicine and decided to pursue that career path.”
Dr. Reid, who joined the Guyana Defence Force back in 2002 and currently holds the rank of Major, pursued his medical training at the University of Guyana (postgraduate) and the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba (undergraduate). Ever since, he has learnt that empathy is an important pillar in the practice of medicine. He related, “we not only treat a disease, we treat a person, we treat a human being; and their relatives, (we) manage their expectations, alleviate their fears, provide comfort and when applicable reassurance. It helps to put ourselves in the patients’ and/or relatives’ shoes and experience what they experience in order to better understand and relate to patients and relatives.”
As an emergency doctor, he is always prepared for the pace of operation in the A&E Department to be intense all day and into the night since, according to him, “emergencies do not respect time.”

KEEN PRECAUTION
Although devoted to the profession, these days he practices with keen precaution in order to be spared being a target of the prevailing contagion.

Several colleagues and friends of his have thus far been infected but thankfully none of his family members have been so inflicted to date. But worrying about becoming infected comes naturally and is in fact important because “I think we all have to worry about being infected, if we don’t, we will not adhere to guidelines and take measures to protect ourselves,” Dr. Reid added.
As is recommended, Dr. Reid protects himself by wearing a face mask at all times in public and ensures he washes his hands regularly. In addition, since the ideal social distancing of six feet is not always practical, he ventures into the public domain only when necessary.
This father of two boys – 17-month-old Seth and two-month-old Zen – despite his busy schedule, makes ample time to spend with his family. He related, “My activities are restricted to my house and I’m perfectly happy spending time with my sons.”
Speaking of his family interactions, he explained, “now that we understand COVID a little better and can better protect ourselves, the risk of transmission is less. If all measures are taken to help prevent contracting this virus, even though it doesn’t eliminate the risk, I’m comfortable being around my family.”
For risking so much in a world where so little recognition is forthcoming, today we take time out to say thank you to the hardworking and committed Dr. Reid – our Frontline Worker of the week.

 

 

 

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