“We are in a storm”: Covid frontline medical students

Abbi Bow, a second-year medical scientist at the University of Bristol, was only 19 years old when he started working at one of the hospitals in all the big cities at the forefront of Covid.

“I think it’s a young age to see people at the edge of life and work with them,” she said. “And I think about the patients I took care of. I remember their names and faces. I don’t know if it will leave me. Sometimes I’m a patient who died on the street. Seeing who looks like, it attacks you – you’re back there with them. “

But Bow makes this optimistic. “After I became a doctor, I would already be exposed to a lot of things. It would be beneficial in the long run to learn how to deal with this now.”

When they worked for his or her A-level and dreamed of a medical college, young people like Bow couldn’t imagine them being involved in a coronavirus disaster.

However, more than 500 students from the University of Bristol Medical College have worn PPE and have been involved in GP practice throughout hospital documentation and nurses, as well as as volunteers or medical assistants. Many 1000 extras throughout the county achieved the same.

Bow, now 20 years old, applied as a healthcare assistant in the last 12 months of April and managed to work with her research. She works closely with her patients and provides them with laundry, gowns, food and drinks. Some situations stick to her thoughts.

“Most recently, I helped care for Covid’s patients,” Bow said. “He was talking, but obviously exhausted. His body was tired of fighting Covid.” He didn’t do that. “It’s a tragic, very strange experience. It’s as if the person has disappeared, but the body is still there. His wife is now a widow and his child has no parents anymore.”

She helped another affected person say goodbye to her family through the display screen of her laptop because she might not be able to go to her family. “I was sitting there most of the day holding his hand and playing his favorite music. I was this stranger holding his hand in full PPE, but I I think it brought some comfort. “

The third affected person, with whom Bow was working, was in a coma and was searching abnormally in poor health. “Then I went to the shift, and she ate yogurt and sat in bed. I thought,” It can’t be the same person. ” She went and talked about the bright pink nail polish that the affected people are playing sports. Her granddaughter used it before going to the hospital. “It’s great to think that our intervention went well and helped her body fight back. It’s a sweet memory.”

Bow is optimistic. “It’s sometimes difficult. When you wake up, it’s Groundhog Day. I’m not doing what I love, meeting friends and family, having dinner or going to the gym. In the future, these It’s good to keep the idea of ​​being able to do things. If possible, I’d like to cherish more. “

Luke Ottewell, a 22-year-old fifth 12-month-old scholar, is stationed at the Royal Hospital in Gloucestershire and is responsible for junior documentation after completing duties in collecting blood samples, inserting cannulas, and handling X-ray orders. I will.

He was sent to Spain by the university throughout the final spring of the first blockade. “But I realized that I would rather help here.” Otwell returned to the summer season and was “stuck”.

Like the fifth year of his companion, he had to fix stability and take care of people in poor health. His routine, ready for the finals, begins revisions at 6:30 am, works in the hospital on a shift from 9 am to 5 pm, and then returns to revisions from 5 pm to 9 pm It was that. “The desire to help in the event of a national emergency has made it easier to get out of bed in the morning,” he said.

Andrew Blythe, director of the university’s medical program and part-time GP, said students were exposed to more trauma and stress than most of their predecessors.

“No doubt they are looking at more sick patients,” he said. “When they first experience death, it’s a very powerful and moving experience.”

Many have suspended research for points of physical or psychological well-being, but no one has dropped out. “Their experience will have a major impact on the overall understanding of medicine. For many of them, I think the pandemic motivated them.”

Another 22-year-old fifth 12-month scholar, Chanelle Smith, who is critical of poor health in Gloucestershire, said her duties range from blood sampling to discharge summarization. Said. She is about to start working on a vaccination program.

“We are in a storm,” she said. “It’s hard to stay positive, but if we can get through this tunnel, we’ll all be very proud. Working in such a difficult time will strengthen you. Increased resilience. I think it was nervous, humble, and inspiring, but I feel ready to be a doctor. “