- During the epidemic, some medical and nursing students mobilized to help caregivers underwater.
- Some have agreed to respond to our call for testimony.
- They tell how they lived this very special mission. And how she was able to change or strengthen their career choices.
Go to the front without weapons or training. Some nursing and medical school students volunteered to support their future colleagues in hospital corridors, in nursing homes, on the phone during the coronavirus epidemic. An early and singular dive which can be instructive, but also delicate. Some of them told us about their feelings and how this extraordinary experience played out in their choices for the future.
“Finding myself in the deep end was a very enriching experience”
Thomas, 21 and a second year medical student at the faculty of Paris-Saclay wanted to be useful during the epidemic. His faculty mobilized him at the Melun hospital (Seine-et-Marne), which launched Terr-e Santé, a telemedicine cell dedicated to Covid-19. A mission which consisted in recalling the patients who felt their state of health deteriorate. Suddenly, he collaborated with nurses, coordinating doctors, externs ... And this experience, far from the crowded benches of college, taught him a lot. “After the difficult first year competition, being in the deep water was a very enriching experience, which showed me the different facets of the medical professions. I saw there many good sides (richness of reasoning, medical interrogation, confidence of the patients ...), but also certain aspects which I had underestimated (certain people undermining our role, which could remain a little across the throat when you are voluntary).
Ilona, 19, is pursuing a course to become a nurse. She was sent to an Ehpad the day after her offer of help. It is not a discovery for her because she had already completed internships and summer jobs in this universe. “I was directly confronted on my arrival with the death of a resident. I told myself that for once, I was going into the bath straight away. With new drastic directives and very busy teams, Ilona did not really have the time to calmly learn the trade. “I was told the residents' rooms that I will take care of for the toilet, alone, help with taking meals… I did not have a week of adaptation and I mainly followed the helpers- caregivers, while I am a nursing student. I was very independent. For many of them, this mission took the form of an express training. "I learned a lot about hygiene," says the young woman. It is a demanding training for a meticulous job. "
Emergency and solidarity
What marked her, too, was the urgency. “I like to take the time to get to know the residents well before cleaning, but that was not possible there. Especially since the Covid crisis changed the working conditions of caregivers. “The residents must have felt so lonely, in addition we could no longer see our face between the mask and the glasses, we couldn't touch them, since we had to respect a certain distance. It was more difficult to accompany in death. Especially with distant and particularly worried relatives.
Despite the difficulties, it is also the pride that emerges from these testimonies. "My first week was really hard, wearing a mask for twelve hours with the heat was complicated," says Ilona. I had big migraines, I was exhausted, but I came back with a smile, thinking that during this period of confinement, I was not twiddling my thumbs but that I was serving something. "
And many were able to count on an invested team and precious solidarity. "Whenever I do internships, I am told that you have to have a good cohesion with the team, that's what I liked about this job," says Ilona. I saw it even more in this situation. But some were shocked to see the state of the public hospital. Because by moving from theory to practice, "I was also able to confront the reality of the hospital world: few resources for staff who feel forgotten, long working hours," says Thomas, a medical student. I hope that in the future the condition of health personnel will be improved. "
"I realized that this job is my vocation"
The challenges, already numerous in normal times, have been accentuated by this epidemic. "The lack of equipment forced caregivers to work continuously so as not to change their protection for 7 hours straight," points out Eliot, a first-year student in nursing in North Franche-Comté.
Stress, death of patients, shortage of masks ... Discovering your future profession in such exceptional conditions risks distorting a first glimpse. To the point of giving up? For Suzanne, also a volunteer, it's the cold shower. "I saw the horror, the panic to find material, the discouragement, the crying, the anger," she laments. I have not seen happy people, proud of their profession. I embarrassed them because I still didn't know how to do anything. I'm going to change direction, save who can. Ilona, on the other hand, has no plans to reorient herself. "It was a complicated period, we relied heavily on nurses, they had to be even more reactive than usual," she says. I saw them cry, go home earlier because they couldn't take it anymore. I said to myself this job, it's an important task. But I still want to continue in this training. "
For Eliot, these five weeks in a trauma rehabilitation service only reinforced his motivation. "I realized that this job is my vocation and that I loved participating in the national effort," he says. Crisis medicine is my field, I want to live days filled with suspense and the unexpected. I am aiming for a position in the army or in intensive care. This first experience in the field made Thomas want to change his future profession. "It made me think about my future specialty choices, I would like to turn to a medical specialty, not surgical, because I really appreciated the contact with patients, the human side of the profession. "
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