As universities shutdown and with students returning home, for medical students at the Stellenbosch university going home was not an option as they step in to volunteer at hospitals during Covid-19 pandemic.
These students who have chosen to join health workers say that this serves as the best practical for them.
The Stellies are volunteering at the Tygerberg Hospital in the Western Cape.
“I felt that I wanted to help out and there was also uncertainty as to the duration we would be gone. I made the decision to try and help out at the hospital as a volunteer,” Fourth-year medical student Abdul-Mutakabir Aziz said.
Student intern, Sheryl Marshall agreed with Aziz:
“Volunteering was the most natural thing to do. I really felt that I wanted to stay and help – especially when we are facing such a huge health crisis.”
With students assigned to Screening, 70 volunteering medical students are working in Tygerberg Hospital’s Covid-19 Screening Area. Another 20 students are screening people at the four main entrances of the hospital.
“Fifteen students are working at the Contact Tracing Centre at Tygerberg Campus and another 115 are assisting at the National Covid-19 Helpline. In the internal medicine wards, 70 senior students are helping with the day-to-day functioning of the hospital.”
