How medical students at high-risk can help during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published on Medium
Medical students with health conditions that increase the likelihood of serious complications from COVID-19 can provide valuable help to their communities without putting their own health at risk. (Photo by Britt D.K. Gratreak)
The first half of medical school in the U.S. can be summarized as learning how to learn in the form of vigorous studying, difficult exams, and absorbing content in a way that is often compared to trying to drink from a fire hose. While clinical skills comprise part of early medical education, these limited experiences are simply not built to a level to be of direct help in a medical capacity during a global health crisis. Facing the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic impacting our communities, many medical students feel an urgent drive to help (that drive is how we got to medical school in the first place!) along with a pang of powerlessness, especially for those with high-risk health conditions.
When calls for childcare, delivering groceries, and other direct needs arose, students who are in higher risk groups of severe complications like those with diabetes, heart conditions, and asthma may feel especially insufficient. Not only are they unable to help directly on the front lines, but they could be risking their lives to provide even the most basic forms of help to their communities. Rest assured, though, there are many things that you can do to help while respecting your own health needs:
Join (or start) an organized, school-wide initiative to call local businesses to secure personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies for frontline medical workers. Work together so that you can make calls and someone else can pick up/deliver supplies to where they are needed once you have secured a donation. At my medical school, this took the form of a widely-shared collaborative Google Sheets document with lists of businesses, addresses, phone numbers, suggested scripts for phone calls, and live notes. NPR has a good list of businesses to start with that may have PPE, from woodworking shops to nail salons. Across the country, medical students are collecting these essential supplies for healthcare providers.
Telemedicine is now at the forefront of clinical experiences — seek opportunities to serve patients in high-risk groups. I joined a newly-launched project through my school via the Arizona Center of Aging to provide geriatric telehealth services to help protect the folks who are most at risk by providing them with frequent check-ins, resources, and appropriate referrals. Reach out to departments at your school and help start a telehealth initiative if one does not exist already.
Make washable masks to help organizations ensure that their efforts meet new CDC guidelines. At my school, medical student leaders have arranged for credit hours to be logged to make and deliver masks to community Food Bank workers and volunteers who are delivering food. Our Commitment to Underserved People (CUP) Programs are reimbursing students for the cost of their supplies, though some students have found local businesses more than happy to donate mask-making kits if they ask. Leaders have sent out detailed how-to documents, instructions, and video tutorials. Check with your school to see if they can help you lead a similar effort.
Donate your scrubs, chemistry lab goggles, and other supplies to frontline workers that may be needed that you probably will not be using while you are taking virtual classes and physically distancing at home. Urge your classmates to do the same.
Volunteer with local or national hotlines such as the Crisis Text Line, which provides free training with a 200-hour commitment. Help the LGBTQIA+ community, who face additional challenges under quarantine, by volunteering to help nationwide TrevorChat or TrevorText initiatives through The Trevor Project.
Identify patient populations who may be losing access to essential services and look out for them by addressing resource shortages in real time. Give your local organizations a call. Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) medical students released a public dissemination focused on the care for people with substance use disorders and encouraged others to follow their lead by replication. How is your school mobilizing to assess needs in flux in addiction care? As COVID-19 leads to a surge in intimate partner violence (IPV), do your local domestic violence shelters need help coordinating calls or acquiring resources? Do homeless folks have a safe place to sleep or quarantine from others if they need to? What empty businesses or hotels might be able to provide emergency housing?
Check for remote opportunities available at your local state health department. If you don’t see any that you can do safely, reach out and ask them if they need any help with other projects that can be done remotely.
Offer fun live events or academic tutoring in subjects like science, math, and biology for K-12 students in your community. Many school districts are closed until next school year across the country. Consider offering a weekly session with music/singing, art, or academic assistance and posting in local Facebook groups. You can also make a post in those groups and ask parents what they need help with and see if you can provide it. You can also reach out to local school districts to see if you can volunteer to help teachers with their online curriculum.
If you can, make an appointment to donate blood and help advocate against the FDA #BloodBan. Blood supplies are critically low. The American Red Cross is tirelessly rescheduling blood drives and taking measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. With school and work closures, many regular blood drives are cancelled which led to a substantial shortage. One donation of whole blood can potentially save the life of three people. You can donate blood every two months. The FDA is relaxing some discriminatory regulations on blood donation such as reducing the time limit on men who have sex with men (MSM) blood product donations from 12 months to 3 months deferment (which is still not zero) and there are growing movements to push the FDA to repeal this limitation completely. While the FDA is approving the use of investigatory convalescent plasma treatment, it is time to lend your voice by posting on social media about ditching the FDA #BloodBan of MSM once and for all.
Offer a regular virtual meetup for classmates to join. In my cohort, a student with extensive knitting knowledge hosted a Stitch ‘n’ Bitch session. Students bought cheap knitting supplies online or used what they had around the house and practiced knitting while getting things off their chest. The Medical Ethics Reality Forum (MERF) launched a weekly Friday night pub-style ethics event via Zoom.
Check on your classmates often. This may not seem like a big deal, but medical students are facing many extra stressors on top of medical school and everyone will appreciate it. Reach out one-on-one and see what’s on their mind. Instead of a text, give them a phone call. (if you share my introverted culture, text and ask if it’s okay to call them and then call them if they say yes)
Get together to virtually showcase your new DIY hair style. I know I’m not the only person who shaved my head and dipped into Manic Panic.
Be patient, talk to your colleagues, and watch your inbox. There are many moving parts and projects being sparked on a daily basis. Keep an open dialogue with your classmates to stay up-to-date on the needs of your community.
Every chance you get, encourage physical distancing. Do everything you can to relay the seriousness of this pandemic and encourage people to #StayTheFHome. I’m saying you need to call out your colleagues if you see them posting real-time selfies in large groups; future doctors shouldn’t act like that.
Every opportunity is made better with a buddy. Encourage your classmates to start training for volunteer opportunities with you.
Be patient, talk to your colleagues, and watch your inbox. There are many moving parts and projects being sparked on a daily basis. Keep an open dialogue with your classmates to stay up-to-date on the needs of your community.
I know that you may feel frustrated because you cannot be on the forefront of the medical response, but there are so many ways that you can help during this pandemic without putting your own health at risk. Your community needs you to share your ideas, passion, and drive. Just because you need to be cautious to protect your own health (or the health of high-risk people you live with) does not mean that your contributions are any less valuable.
Please reach out to me if you have more ideas for this list — I will gladly add them as time goes on! You can best reach me on Twitter (@brittbrains).
Updated April 7, 2020 to add mask-making and resources about how to make masks (thanks Rebecca Allen!)
This article was published in an abridged format titled, ‘Student Guest Column: Ways to Help During the Pandemic If You Can’t Be on the Front Lines’ in Health Sciences Connect by the University of Arizona on April 23, 2020.