Medical students fast-tracked to help battle Covid-19
Fifth-year medical students are being fast tracked to join Barts Health in an attempt to support and manage the Covid-19 pandemic.
To help ease pressure on hospitals, The General Medical Council (GMC) have advised that any final-year medical student who is deemed to have met mandatory requirements by their medical school can be provisionally registered to begin working as soon as possible.
Students from Queen Mary University of London who have met the criteria will be deployed at hospitals across Barts Health in both foundation doctor (F1), nursing and health care assistant roles.
The first induction session was held this week, in which a cohort of 30 medical students were given an overview of the Trust by staff members from The Barts Health Education Academy.
Taking place at the Dental Hospital at the Royal London, the induction programme is scheduled to be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for students who are eligible to be fast-tracked. The Barts Health Education Academy facilitate the induction sessions with representatives from Learning & Development, Medical and Nursing, Resuscitation, and Moving and Handling.
Aadil Thakur, a Learning and Development Facilitator at the Education Academy, explained how Monday’s induction session was a success, and that students were eager to hit the ground running.
“Monday’s session was great, and the students were relaxed and took it in their stride. It was great to see such a good turn out and we’re expecting to see similar numbers in the upcoming inductions. The sessions consist of an overview of the Trust, our visions, values and behaviours, and highlights some of the wellbeing initiatives that are in place to support staff during this time. We also provide students with a helpful handbook which includes a local induction checklist.”
Professor Colin Bailey, President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London, said: “We are working closely with government and the NHS to support the national effort against coronavirus. The NHS is doing an incredible job and as a University it is our duty to contribute by donating the world-leading academic and clinical expertise from our medical school as well as our facilities and equipment.”
The influx of new, young doctors, nurses and healthcare assistants is expected to ease pressure and provide some much-needed support on the front line in the fight against coronavirus.