Never the same – A commentary on surgical trainee well-being in the COVID era

One year ago, we were different people. One year ago, this was a different hospital. One year ago, this was a different nation. One year ago, it was a different world. As the fear and the uncertainty of the pandemic enveloped so many of us, we remember hearing some around us reply: “this is what we trained for” and “this will be our finest hour”. But is it? Does anyone arrive at medical school with aspirations to guide their world through the perils of a global pandemic? Does anyone put on their scrubs hoping to sit beside someone's gasping wife… grandfather… brother so that they will not die alone? Physician wellness is already a vague term, but can we ever truly be “well” after a year like this? Much has been said about the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on surgical trainees, but the degree to which this pandemic will continue to affect us for years to come remains unknown.