Paper short abstract:

During the pandemic, doctors played as life support by sacrificing themselves as a shield between the pandemic and the public health; nevertheless, after the enormous effort they have been alienated from the society as well as family and have encountered and negotiated with unprecedented realities.

Paper long abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new era for humanity, one that is both unprecedented and challenging. To address this challenge, doctors sacrificed themselves as a shield between the coronavirus and the crisis of public survival. They're combating the coronavirus and delivering health care support to the general public, so their role has appeared as life support in society. This article will focus on the doctors' experiences during the pandemic through encounters and negotiations. A multi-sited ethnographic approach was used in this study, as well as netnography, online and physical interviews were conducted as research methods. This study attempted to explore the experiences of doctors using the theoretical frameworks of alienation theory. The findings of this study revealed that in the context of Bangladeshi doctors, high levels of work stress, completing obligations without assuring proper safety equipment, and living in uncertainty have damaged their mental and physical health, as well as that of their families. Furthermore, because they physically serve individuals, they are referred to as COVID-19 carriers, which has alienated them from society. Therefore, the doctors haven’t only been facing the pandemic situation but have also been encountering and negotiating with several unprecedented social stigmas since the contamination has seen an upturn. The doctors performed their duties as a life support system for the masses, but their efforts alienated them from the society in which they had been serving since the pandemic began.