The war against coronavirus is raging more than ever in the West. With the new epicenter of the disease in Europe, the efforts of the entire planet have been redoubled to prevent it from taking its free course around the world.
Currently, new cases of the coronavirus are being reported on the planet in all the countries that have been affected – with the exception of China, which, after months of quarantine, has not officially reported any new cases of the disease today.
With the gradual increase in the number of patients, the world’s health systems are less and less prepared to face the crisis. Therefore, it is important to be able to evaluate all the alternatives to take advantage of the resources around us to provide the best possible medical care. Considering this, even young medical students could make a difference in dealing with COVID-19.
The actual situation
Right now, at least in the United States, the big universities have suspended the internships that medical students usually do in their last years of career. Likewise, organizations such as the Association of American Medical Colleges have issued reports advising the rest of the university institutions to do the same.
Similarly, the classes are being systematically transferred to the digital territory. So students should spend as little time as possible on campus or on the street and decrease the risk of contagion.
There is a problem with the assortment of medical equipment
Much of the motivation behind the decision to withdraw students from hospitals is the desire to preserve the best possible medical resources. Whether it’s gowns, gloves, or face masks, as the COVID-19 crisis increases, the assortment of them decreases.
By custom, students in their internship only accompany doctors on their rounds to learn in the field. However, doing this now would imply that they would have to use the few medical protection materials that doctors could use on other occasions.
Due to the lack of a solution to this problem, at the moment, the sign seems to be to remove students from hospitals. However, here is an opportunity that is being lost.
Could reduce doctors’ workload
In effect, exposing students to areas where coronavirus infections are involved may result in increased expenditure on medical protection materials. However, it is worth remembering that this is not the only condition that students could attend to while residing in hospitals.
In fact, they could be of great help in other wings of the hospital, since, wherever their assistance is used, this will mean less burden for the doctors, who will surely have their hands full attending to the patients of the hospital. coronavirus.
Aware of this, universities like Harvard have made the decision to suspend internships for only two weeks. In this way, they can give hospitals the time to plan in which areas residents could be located, so that they do not have to interact directly with coronavirus patients.
Among some possibilities that have been considered for the fulfillment of the residences of medical students, it has been thought that they could make virtual consultations. They would consist of answering calls from citizens with the concern of having the virus, evaluating them and their symptoms and determining whether or not they should go to a hospital for help.
Also, from a more direct point of view, interns could also follow up on COVID-19 cases. Thus, with their external perspective, they would help determine which patients might require intensive care more urgently.
Mixed positions
Many of these ideas have already been put on the table. However, it is a little difficult to determine which of them will be successful in the end. On the one hand, some students claim that they have studied medicine to help others and that, now that the world is in this health crisis, they want to do their best to collaborate.
But, on the other hand, others declare that they are not willing to pay a tuition just to get sick when they are looking to gain experience in the field. In either case, the concept that will become key is volunteer work.
Students cannot be forced to expose themselves, but if they are willing to help, they cannot be forced not to. Therefore, whatever decision is made, it should give space for residents to exercise their will.
And, if the majority is to help, their presence as support in hospitals could translate into an improvement in the quality of medical care and also an increase in the number of patients that can be cared for. Which, in the long run, could make a difference regarding the number of lives that can be saved from the clutches of this disease.
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