Medical students from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine are stepping up to serve the community as the COVID-19 pandemic grips the nation — and has hit southeast Michigan particularly hard.
They’re volunteering on their own time to babysit for Beaumont docs with children, help collect and distribute food for those in need, work with other schools in efforts to secure personal protection equipment (PPE) donations, help create and distribute important information about COVID-19 for the community — even write thank you notes to Beaumont doctors and staff.
OUWB medical students say it’s all part of serving the community and carrying forth the school's mission and values in this critical time of need.
“We are going into medicine and really only a couple of years removed from what the people on the front lines are going through right now,” said Mustafa Polat, third-year (M3) medical student at OUWB.
“We’re not essential health care providers right now, but we want to provide our own contributions in any way we can… you have to find a way to be productive,” he said.
OUWB medical students join their colleagues from across the nation in answering the call for volunteers. The students — along with those from other medical schools in Michigan — were featured in a story for Michigan Radio NPR.
For their safety, the students were removed from medical care centers weeks ago — and they continue to participate in remote classes as they stay on track to become doctors.
Volunteering, they say, is all about not wanting to stand by idly during such a great time of need. That’s why Polat said he was “really excited” when he learned about MyCovidResponse.org.
The website is being run by COVID Response, a network of leaders from various local community organizations (including Oakland University and the Pontiac Community Foundation), churches, and other agencies in central Oakland County who are working to establish connections between those in need and those with resources to meet those needs.
According to the website, the goal is “to establish connections through consolidating information about available resources on our website, building a digital database of community needs, and locating direct help to meet those needs.”
The MyCovidResponse.org website has information on food programs, community resources, education resources, and corporate giveaways directly related to COVID-19. (Those who want to volunteer to help or are in need of help are encouraged to visit the website for detailed information.)
OUWB medical students have been involved in MyCovidResponse.org in various ways, from helping solicit PPE donations and organizing food packages to writing information blogs about COVID-19.
Polat, for example, spent time one day successfully soliciting smaller grocery stores for any PPE that they could donate. Other donations have come from Gleaners Community Food Bank, Lighthouse of Oakland County, Micah 6 Community, Sprout, Dream Centers of Michigan, and the Venetian Club of Mutual Aid, among others.
Polat said being involved gives him “something to look forward to on a daily basis.” He said he typically spends two to three hours a day helping.
OUWB M3 Joshika Money (holding crate in photo) also is volunteering with the COVID Response team.
“Many of us have either come from communities or have worked with communities where access to resources is limited, and we know that our current political and economic system isn't equipped to protect the most marginalized folks from global disasters,” Money said. “I think that for me, and for most of us, being aware that there are huge gaps that will need to be filled by emergency response motivated us to get involved in whatever way we could, as early as we could.”
Students like Money and Polat say they are taking plenty of steps to stay safe and avoid getting sick.
Money said they are maintaining social distancing to the greatest extent possible and frequently using hand sanitizers and washing their hands, wearing gloves when handling food, and limiting the number of volunteers within one place at one time.
OUWB Stephan Sharf Interim Dean Duane Mezwa, M.D., praised the medical students for stepping up.
“I am very proud of our OUWB medical students and the entire medical student community across Michigan and the willingness to help in many ways,” he said.
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].
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