The fight. The battle. The conquest. The opponent. The enemy. The nemesis.
Our collective descriptions of our response to COVID-19 are analogous to our descriptions of wartime, casting the novel coronavirus as the opposition and ourselves as the mighty conquerors.
Reflecting on this portrayal over the past three months – during my final stretch of medical training before becoming an independent practitioner – I wonder if this monochromatic narrative has actually moved us toward the ultimate goal of defeating COVID-19. Perhaps my skepticism stems from my own experience completing the Interprofessional Applied Practical Teaching and Learning in the Health Professions (INTAPT) course prior to the COVID-19 onslaught. I cannot help but wonder if a shift in attitude toward alliance and partnership rather than resistance and combat would be a more productive way of approaching this crisis.
In the INTAPT course, I was introduced to various teaching and learning theories that are embedded in medical education. Notably, Tuckman’s 1965 model of the stages of group development – forming-storming-norming-performing-adjourning – highlights the necessary and inevitable phases for a team to deliver results. Perhaps Tuckman’s collaborative approach to building a high-functioning team can be applied to our relationship with COVID-19.
The first stage of group development, forming, consists of introductions, establishing clear group objectives and defining individual roles. As COVID-19 hit us during the bleak month of January, it showed itself timidly and only mildly threatening, as an unassuming cousin to influenza.
The team then moves in the second stage, storming, in which it pushes against the boundaries established in the forming stage. This is the stage where many teams fail and our relationship with COVID-19 is no exception. The virus, introduced as an unassertive threat, swiftly metamorphosized and proved to be a formidable force. Unfortunately, our collective stress and fear bred internal conflicts as public health and authorities at various levels of government failed to traverse this battlefield in unison.
Gradually, the team moves into the third stage of development – norming – in which members begin to resolve their differences, appreciate each other’s strengths and cultivate partnerships. As we begin to rise from the ashes of the first wave of this pandemic, we find ourselves in this norming phase. Ultimately, we are in the defining moment that will delineate the outcome of this crisis.
As we lay the blueprints for future generations in times of hardship, we can choose the path of collaboration. Rather than focusing on complete eradication (let’s leave that in the trustworthy hands of vaccine developers), we should be concentrating our efforts on symbiosis.
If we choose this path, we can progress towards the final two stages of Tuckman’s model – performing and adjourning.
In the performing stage, we harness pacts made in the norming stage to advance toward our social and economic goals in a tolerant and cautious manner.
While we are quite some time away from the coveted adjourning stage where we will finally part ways with COVID-19, a shift in attitude from gory conquest to accepting partnerships may allow us to arrive at this final destination with fewer battle wounds.
Let’s reintroduce ourselves to the novel coronavirus as cooperative acquaintances willing to live in symbiosis. And, let’s shift this symbiosis from one of predation to one of commensalism.
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A very thoughtful article Carly, thanks for sharing your insights.