The COVID-19 outbreak in the US forces medical students to skip doing clinical hours at the moment.
COVID-19 outbreak in the US stalling clinical hours of med students
With the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, hitting like a freight train, community colleges and universities were forced to shut down and suspend classes. As a result, multiple medical students were caught in between their clinical hours’ requirement and unable to work through.
With the education system in the country transitioning online, medical students requiring clinical hours’ requirement are confused as to what they should do right now. But in a pandemic like this, every working and able hand in the health care service is badly needed.
Respiratory care personnel
In American River College, they have a medical course in Respiratory Therapy. Respiratory care personnel are in charge of operating ventilators, which is, by the case, is the most needed expertise right now during the COVID-19 outbreak in the US.
The coronavirus primarily affects the respiratory system of its victims, with that in mind, experts in the field of respiratory care is indeed a valuable asset. With the accreditation from the Respiratory Care Board of California, medical students from American River College is granted clearance to resume their hospital duties and will count it in their clinical hours’ requirement at school, given that these students are well supervised and with the appropriate personal protective equipment.
Registered Medical Technicians
Laboratory works are essential in identifying positive cases of the coronavirus, thus, also making lab work as one of the riskier jobs during this pandemic. Delay in testing can result from a lack of workforce, test kits, and proper equipment for lab personnel conducting tests.
Half of the students under the medical technician program at Bronx Community College are asking to be reinstated at COVID-19 testing laboratories despite the risk they are facing ahead.
They feel that their profession is a calling for them. A calling for modern superheroes in a pandemic that they cannot turn their backs away from.
With Governor Andrew Cuomo’s approval, all healthcare workers willing to service the city are welcome on board, as long as they meet the federal requirement for high complexity testing. This also goes for medical students wanting to render their services, as long as they are provided with the proper protective equipment and professional supervision, an extra hand is greatly appreciated.
Featured image by Distance Learning Systems
