A qualitative research on the COVID-19 experiences of physicians: A case of a foundation hospital in Istanbul

Infectious diseases are at the forefront of many diseases. They have existed in various forms from the past to the present and still pose a great risk to human life, despite all the innovations in technology and medicine/health. The pandemic of the last century, the Covid-19 virus has passed into history. This thesis analyzes the experiences of the physicians who were diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus and the changes in their lives with the pandemic. This study undercovers the changes in their professions and their experiences as physicians during and after the pandemic, through the lenses of a sociological framework. It reveals the difficulties experienced by physicians during the pandemic and treatment process when they are in the position of a patient who has been treated by their colleagues, while once they were in the position of the treater. This study clarifies and analyzes the risk that physicians took during the treatment process of the pandemic in the light of Sociology. This study is based on the results of a qualitative study using an in-depth interview technique with a total of seventeen physicians, six of whom were women, who were diagnosed with coronavirus, had undergone the necessary treatment and quarantine processes, and were actively continuing their profession. This study has testimonies of the participating physicians. They had faced the definite risks that they once accepted in theory while choosing the medical profession. These physicians did not avoid any struggle at the cost of their own and their relatives' lives in the name of humanity and public health. Moreover; although they were directly at risk, they do not compromise on professional ethics and morals, and they believe that the profession can be transferred to future generations and that the sanctity of the profession will remain sustainable and dynamic by adhering to these principles.