Resilience: A Route to Restart Science

Lately, it seems like the whole world has been turned upside down. Across the globe, physiologists are coping with changes to how they teach and carry out research, while attempting to balance work with home life during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In Puerto Rico, we were still recovering from the devastating category 5 Hurricane Maria that struck in 2017 when residents in the southern part of Puerto Rico (where the Ponce Health Sciences University-Ponce Research Institute is located) were shaken by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in early January 2020. Almost constant seismic activity continues to date. Then, just a few short months later, the COVID-19 pandemic struck. 

How can we carry on after such disasters? While this is a unique circumstance, our responses can be guided by how we, as a research community, have addressed previous challenges to our academic, scientific and personal progress. 
   
Resilience is key. Based on our prior challenges, and through conversations with students, faculty and staff, I offer these thoughts and lessons learned for starting up again: 
   
Establish an emergency communication plan. Hurricanes and earthquakes cause physical building damage, loss of equipment and power, and lack of communication. These forced us to implement emergency phone trees and detailed contingency plans that could be built upon quickly when the pandemic hit.
   
Prepare for your "new normal" after an unexpected disaster. Recognizing that things will be different and exercising flexibility to pivot quickly and adapt to the prevailing conditions allows for resumption of activities, albeit it in a new format or with an altered goal. Our institution focused on helping the larger community within the southern part of the island. This created a sense of purpose and accomplishment in students and faculty and provided a productive outlet to counter feelings of helplessness.
  
Closing down is tough—but starting back up successfully under new rules is tougher. Constant communication and assessment of needs, through surveys and virtual gatherings, are vital to direct resources. Just as natural physical disasters can have widely divergent impacts on different people, the pandemic brings about its own unique set of challenges depending upon each individual's physical location and family and financial circumstances. "Checking in" is vital to ensure that trainees and staff do not fall through the cracks and to guarantee that support (shelter, food, mental health) is there when needed. 
   
Be realistic and flexible with goals and expectations. Find ways to leverage the altered circumstances so that this "barrier" to the next class, exam, fellowship, manuscript or grant can be navigated and perhaps even provide new opportunities and directions for growth.
   
Acknowledge loss. Facing adversity is tough—build resilience and coping skills through focusing on what can be controlled. When possible, prioritize wellness practices (nutrition, exercise, sleep, work boundaries), and reach out and connect when struggling. Demonstrate work kindness and compassion to others during these difficult times.
   
A scientific career by necessity demands resilience. With flexibility, adaptation and perseverance, our capacities to deal effectively with future adversity will also increase. 

Caroline Appleyard, PhD, FAPS, is a professor at Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico.

 

This article was originally published in the July 2020 issue of The Physiologist Magazine.