Don’t forget to come out from behind your mask

+Opinion

Don’t forget to come out from behind your mask

Barbara Docherty

Barbara Docherty

Beak doctor - "Historiae anatomicae" by Thomas Bartholin "Hafniae 1661"
Medical professionals from the early modern age treated patients with bubonic plague wearing beak-like masks, supposedly filled with spices such as clove or cinnamon [image: Thomas Bartholin's illustration of a beak doctor, 1661 / WikiCommons]

As we encourage mask-wearing in public, also consider coming out from behind your own “mask” to talk about your needs as health professionals, writes nurse educator Barbara Docherty

“I’ve spent two decades of my nursing career training health professionals in the art of successful interactive conversations with their patients and