At the end of March, the Faculty of Medicine and Region Skåne announced that they had reached an agreement that students could be employed in health care in order to strengthen the Skåne health service in the fight against Covid-19. Several hundred students registered their interest. One of them is Hanna Djerf, who is studying in the medical programme’s 10th semester.
“It feels great to be able to help and to feel that you’re needed. I think many people studying for the healthcare profession will recognise the feeling of wanting to help,” says Hanna Djerf about why she signed up to work.
Since the beginning of April, she has been working two days a week in an intensive care unit in Malmö, which has been rapidly set up to care for patients with Covid-19.
“Within the unit, we’re a bit like odd-job men. We don't take any medical decisions. We help the doctors by calling around and sending referrals for X-rays and so on. We also help the nurses and assistant nurses with turning patients, for example, or fetching things and washing visors.
“Everyone in the ICU knows who we are and the role we have. The function we’re performing is to lighten the load for the regular staff so they have the energy to last longer. It feels important.”
Two days a week sounds like a lot of work for a student who is studying to be a doctor at the same time, but Hanna Djerf is used to planning her time effectively and she has been involved in student life for most of the medical program. The 10th semester is also the time for writing a degree project, which makes it easier for students to organise their own time.
Before the students started working, they received a short introduction, which consisted of an internet-based course and a visit to the ICU.
"It sufficed as an introduction because we don't have such difficult tasks. The hardest part is learning to find your way around in all the medical stores," says Hanna Djerf with a laugh.
The safety of health care workers has been widely discussed in the media, but Hanna Djerf is not worried about herself.
"Most patients in the ICU are on a ventilator and they are closed systems, so their exhaled air doesn’t come out into the ward. We’ve been given clear information about what protective equipment we should use in what situation and, as well as that, I’m young and healthy.”
This summer, Hanna Djerf has received a temporary post as a junior doctor in Borås and will then be leaving the ICU in Malmö. What will she take with her from her experiences this spring?
“It's really instructive and exciting to see how intensive care works close up.
“It's great to be part of a team and have colleagues. As a medical candidate in the middle of training, you are new to the department every day. It's such fun to be part of a group of personnel and feel that you fit in.”
Several hundred students expressed their interest in working in health care to strengthen Skåne’s health service in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and 171 medical students have been employed so far at Skåne University Hospital.
An online community is also soon to be set up for students working in health care during the Covid-19 pandemic. The community aims to support students, provide information and offer lectures. Leading the project is Ingemar Petersson, Head of Research at Skåne University Hospital.