Utilising medical students as wellness coaches during the CoVID‐19 pandemic

Gordon, Mara; Kim, Helen Wonjai; Kennedy, W. P.; Bartolo, Isha Marina Di

doi:10.1111/medu.14617

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Here we discuss the development, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative service-learning COVID-19 vaccination program. While there is growing body of literature about medical student contributions to the COVID-19 response [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 15 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ], our work is the largest student-lead, community-based vaccination program described to date. It reveals that medical students are effective front-line vaccinators during a global pandemic and can attain a valuable learning experience from this service.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students as Community Vaccinators: Implementation of A Service-Learning COVID-19 Vaccination Program

et al. 2022

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While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major educational disruptions, it has also catalyzed innovation in service-learning as a real-time response to pandemic-related problems. The limited number of qualified providers was primed to restrict SARS-CoV-2 vaccination efforts. Thus, New York State temporarily allowed healthcare professional trainees to vaccinate, enabling medical students to support an overwhelmed healthcare system and contribute to the public health crisis. Here, we describe a service-learning vaccination program directed towards underserved communities. A faculty-led curriculum prepared medical students to communicate with patients about COVID-19 vaccines and to administer intramuscular injections. Qualified students were deployed to public vaccination clinics located in under-served neighborhoods in collaboration with an established community partner. Throughout the program, 128 students worked at 103 local events, helping to administer 26,889 vaccine doses. Analysis of a retrospective survey administered to participants revealed the program taught fundamental clinical skills and was a transformative service-learning experience. As new virus variants emerge and nations battle recurrent waves of infection, the need for effective vaccination plans continues to grow. The program described here offers a novel framework that academic medical centers could adapt to increase vaccine access in their local community and provide students with a uniquely meaningful educational experience.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students as Community Vaccinators: Implementation of A Service-Learning COVID-19 Vaccination Program

et al. 2022

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Students as Community Vaccinators: Implementation of a Service-Learning COVID-19 Vaccination Program

Griswold

Klein

Dusaj

et al. 2022

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Background: Service-learning is an integral component of medical education. While the COVID-19 pandemic has caused massive educational disruptions, it has also catalyzed innovation in service-learning as real-time responses to pandemic-related problems. For example, the limited number of qualified providers was a potential barrier to local and national SARS-CoV-2 vaccination efforts. Foreseeing this hurdle, New York State temporarily allowed healthcare professional trainees to vaccinate, enabling medical students to support an overwhelmed healthcare system and contribute to the community. Yet, it was the responsibility of medical schools to interpret these rules and implement the vaccination programs. Here the authors describe a service-learning vaccination program directed towards underserved communities. Methods: Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) rapidly developed a faculty-led curriculum to prepare students to communicate with patients about the COVID-19 vaccines and to administer intramuscular injections. Qualified students were deployed to public vaccination clinics located in underserved neighborhoods across New York City in collaboration with an established community partner. The educational value of the program was evaluated with retrospective survey. Results: Throughout the program, which lasted from February to June 2021, 128 WCM students worked at 103 local events, helping to administer 26,889 vaccine doses. Analysis of student evaluations revealed this program taught fundamental clinical skills, increasing comfort giving intramuscular injection from 2% to 100% and increasing comfort talking to patients about the COVID-19 vaccine from 30% to 100%. Qualitatively participants described the program as a transformative service-learning experience. Conclusion: As new virus variants emerge, nations battle recurrent waves of infection, and vaccine eligibility expands to include children and boosters, the need for effective vaccination plans continues to grow. The program described here offers a novel framework that academic medical centers could adapt to increase vaccine access in their local community and provide students with a uniquely meaningful educational experience.

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Utilising medical students as wellness coaches during the CoVID‐19 pandemic

Cited by 2 publications

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Students as Community Vaccinators: Implementation of A Service-Learning COVID-19 Vaccination Program

Students as Community Vaccinators: Implementation of A Service-Learning COVID-19 Vaccination Program

Students as Community Vaccinators: Implementation of a Service-Learning COVID-19 Vaccination Program

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