How I joined the COVID fight as a vaccinator
Over the last year — while thousands of health care workers served on the COVID-19 front lines — those of us studying to practice medicine were facing pandemic-related challenges to continuing our education and training.
At the start of the pandemic, I was a PA (physician assistant) student in my second trimester at the Sacred Heart University PA program at the Stamford branch. Given quarantine, social distancing, and a health care system adapting every day to meet an increased need for access to care, my classmates and I were unsure how we would continue our rigorous curriculum as well as gain the important clinical skills needed for us to advance in the program.
Yet, while the uncertainty of how PA school would continue was extremely frustrating, experiencing the pandemic made me feel even more certain that I chose the correct career path. Knowing that countless health care providers were not only risking their own health, working long hours, and experiencing burnout because of an overburdened health care system, the motivated to finish my education and begin helping patients became overwhelmingly clear.
In March 2020, PA school quickly shifted to a remote setting, and our class spent about four months virtually learning — becoming video call experts in the process.
Thankfully, my biggest fear that the pandemic would delay our clinical rotations never came to pass. A year into the pandemic, I have completed five of 10 of my clinical rotations, which seemed like a distant dream just a year ago. My classmates and I were able to begin clinical rotations in August fully protected with N95 masks, surgical masks, goggles, face shields and recently, the all-important vaccine.
With our advancement in the PA program, many students including myself felt prepared and motivated to step into the COVID-19 fight. This drive led many of us to join the Connecticut Response Team with our home unit as the Sacred Heart University Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).
While being a vaccinator was something that I did not plan on doing when applying to PA school, none of my unconventional experiences during PA school have been anything I could have predicted. Ultimately, I know all of these experiences will prepare me to be a skilled PA in a post-COVID world.
Volunteering with the MRC has given students like myself an opportunity to take a hold of the future and help create a change in the community. Not only are we immunizing the community to fight against COVID, but we are building a strong sense of purpose.
For me, being a vaccinator meant being an advocate for science and medicine while providing hope to society that one day our “normal” will be restored. I know that many people in our state and around the
For me, being a vaccinator meant being an advocate for science and medicine while providing hope to society that one day our “normal” will be restored.
country still have questions about the vaccine, and I would encourage everyone to take their concerns to their health care providers. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, because we are all in this together.
Overall, that’s my biggest takeaway from my experience as a student vaccinator: We, as a community, are stronger as a whole. If we work together, even the biggest challenge like a global pandemic can be stopped.