After completing another shift as an emergency physician treating many patients with influenza-like illnesses amid the COVID-19 global pandemic that has reached every state in the nation, Megan L. Ranney, MD, MPH, changes her clothes before heading home to her husband and their two children, 11 and 8 years old.

She leaves her shoes outside, along with a plastic bag filled with her clothes, then immediately gets in the shower to wash away the pandemic gunk before touching another soul. She wipes down her smartphone, her keys and the steering wheel of her car.

But what remains safely stored inside her car’s trunk, tucked inside of a paper bag, are two increasingly precious items in a world wracked by a global shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE): a procedural mask and a medical grade N95 respirator.

The items, designed to be used once and then disposed of, will be reused “for as long as possible,” Dr. Ranney said in an interview.

That’s the lede to a notable story of mine recently published on the AMA website. Read the whole shebang.

Also check out these other recent stories I’ve written that address various elements of the COVID-19 global pandemic:

• Physician practices: Learn how to get help under CARES Act
• Why stronger federal leadership is needed to buy, distribute PPE
• 6 keys for retired physicians considering return to practice
• What the $2 trillion coronavirus relief plan means for doctors
• COVID-19 national emergency: 6 top insights from 2 AMA presidents
• This is war: We must tackle shortages hampering COVID-19 effort
• How JAMA Network quickened pace to deliver critical COVID-19 info
• Doctors, hospitals, nurses seek $1 billion to combat COVID-19
• New CPT code for COVID-19 testing: What you should know
• Planning for COVID-19 patient surges requires doctors’ input