Unprecedented Efforts of Allied Health Professionals During Unprecedented Times

Life after the first wave of unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic turned to normalcy by January 2021. There was a significant decrease in cases as indicated by daily statistics. The additional set up made by many healthcare organizations had begun to close gradually. Suddenly, there was an uproar. The coronavirus had made a grand reentry, this time with vengeance. There was hustle and bustle everywhere. The cases increased in leaps and bounds. This showed the unpreparedness of the healthcare organizations in terms of resources, trained and skilled workforce, manpower for screening, home care services, testing and monitoring systems, vaccination drives and much more.

The chaotic second surge forced many healthcare organizations and services to implement strategies to overcome the shortage of doctors, nurses, and lack of resources. The strategy also included involving the allied health science staff and students in helping frontline healthcare staff in performing critical and or non-critical nursing tasks, depending on the skills. The increased death rate, economic strife, and unprecedented curbs on social interaction did not deter them. They were timely, flexible, and adaptable. The list of student volunteers ran into pages. Scheduling the roster for round the clock duty was quick. Work started in multiple areas - swabbing and testing, frontline healthcare worker, taking x-ray, preparing patients for CT scan, dialyzing patients, managing radiation therapy for cancer stricken COVID-19 patients, checking vital signs, war room duties, performing clerical tasks, networking and the list goes on.

Additional responsibility of taking the place of a family member to say final goodbye or conveying news about death to the family was always inevitable. Certainly, students and staff went through stages of grief when COVID-19 deaths went uncounted. There was denial, anger, depression, and non-acceptance. Performing Rasputin dance challenge in Covid wards not only cheered the patients, but also acted as stress buster for themselves. Very few healthcare organizations offered counselling services and mental health support to staff and students owing to the existing robust facility. Mental health webinars helped boost their morale. The unfortunate ones, who could not receive any support, chose not to think of all the misery, but continued the service with hope. Student postings in rural settings was a challenge. Creating awareness, administering health education, conducting community visits, though hectic, appeared to be an amazing opportunity to unlearn, relearn, and test their own capabilities and value systems.

There seemed to be remarkable resilience, compassion, and professional dedication during the second wave, despite the fear of becoming infected and infecting family members.

Few students who could not be part of Covid workforce in the hospital, enrolled as volunteers in various groups meant for food distribution, ensuring dignified burial and cremation, ambulance management and many more related activities in their respective hometowns. Vaccination drive was another breakthrough. There were multiple areas to attend to - managing patient ques, imparting proper instructions, helping in registrations in CoWin app, post vaccination patient observation and convincing vaccine deniers.

State government in the first week of May 2021 came up heavily in deploying final year students, interns and post graduate students from faculties of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, ayush including few others, with associated incentives and benefits for the service. One more announcement about the extension of additional courses and training programmes for medical students and nurses followed soon. Keeping in view the type of support and the many services provided during the unprecedented times, it would be justifiable to extend similar incentives and other facilities to allied health staff and students. Let us be mindful of the saying “recognize and affirm people when they contribute to the mission you share. Do this, and you will ignite their purpose and potential”.

Editorial is reviewed by Dr. Archana Bhatt, Associate Editor, RJAHS.