In a "normal" world, Fatoumata Nogoy Bah would be finishing her final year at University of Massachusetts Medical School, getting ready for family and friends to see her walk at graduation and preparing for an overseas trip before starting her residency in July.

Instead, Bah is working in a hospital on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic.

The 26-year-old graduated from medical school more than a month early and volunteered to immediately start working as a medical doctor at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

"If you had told me a few months ago that this is what I'd be doing right now, I'd look at you like you were crazy," Bah told "Good Morning America." "This was just not what we had expected."

Bah graduated from UMass Medical School on March 31 in a virtual graduation ceremony the university held on Zoom.

She started less than a week later at UMass Memorial Medical Center, getting a crash course in telemedicine, among other things, so that she could treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Massachusetts has seen more than 28,000 cases of novel coronavirus, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

"I have a lot of health care providers in my family -- my mom was still working at a nursing home and my sister was still working as a nurse in an emergency department. I felt like I was sitting on the sidelines watching them go in," Bah said. "I really, really wanted to be a part of it, too."

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Bah works on the hospital's COVID-19 floor, but is in an office where she communicates with patients by phone and video. Only one attending doctor is allowed physically on the floor in order to minimize the risk of spreading the virus, according to Bah.

"A lot of the times it's a normal conversation that you're having with a patient -- they're not feeling well, they're pretty sick and they're just telling you how they're feeling," she said of treating patients with COVID-19. "It's just the novelty of the illness [that is different]."

"There's so much unknown about it that a lot of time when they're asking questions, there's a lot that we don't know," Bah added. "It's something that wasn't covered before."

MORE: Daughter chronicles dad's death from COVID-19: 'I cannot believe this is happening'

Bah is also not directly in contact with COVID-19 patients because of her upcoming residency. Officials are trying to keep recent medical school graduates free of COVID-19 so there is no risk they spread it when they start their residencies.

In July, Bah will begin her residency in anesthesiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, a hot spot of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

"When I matched I was super excited. New York was my first choice," she said. "I think now I'm a little bit more nervous because it seems like this could have a little bit more of a prolonged course, but I'm also excited because this is going to give me another opportunity to work on [these] skills."

Bah is currently living with her mother and sister as all three work in the health care industry. She said despite working about five shifts a week on the COVID-19 floor of a major hospital, it is only when she is at home that she starts to feel the weight of what she and her healthcare colleagues are taking on.

MORE: Lego is making 13,000 face shields a day for medical workers on the front lines

"In the hospital, everyone else is so calm and it just feels like we're doing what we should be doing," she said. "It's not until I sit at home and I'm watching the news and I'm like, 'Wow, this feels so much more real.'"

Despite stepping directly from medical school into a global health pandemic, Bah said she has no doubt her decision to help was the right one.

"I feel like I'm finding my purpose and I'm able to help in whatever ways that I can," she said. "If I had chosen to just stay home, I would have been sitting back still thinking, 'What can I do, what can I do?'"

I graduated early from medical school to help on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com

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I graduated early from medical school to help on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic - Yahoo News

RALEIGH, NC (WITN) - East Carolina University's medical school will join two others in the state to begin test tracing to learn just how far COVID-19 has spread in North Carolina.

The three medical schools, ECU, UNC & Duke, will be part of a coordinated statewide effort to learn what percentage of people have no symptoms.

Gov. Roy Cooper hopes this will tell medical experts how the disease spreads and aid in the reopening of North Carolina.

At his briefing this afternoon, the governor says the state still needs help from the federal government to combat the virus. Cooper says they need more testing supplies to collect even more samples. He said so far they have used 73,000 tests and are using 13 labs to get those results quicker.

"I understand people are anxious to know which orders may be eased first and when that's going to happen," said the governor. "There's no perfect sequence or timing but there is health guidance, business guidance...and common sense."

Since March 30, the state has been virtually shut down except for essential businesses. More than 630,000 people so far have filed for unemployment in the state.

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COOPER: ECU medical school, others to begin test tracing for COVID-19 - WITN

Second-year Harvard Medical School student Joshua Josh J. Ellis 17 thought he would be delivering babies at this time in April.

When the first few COVID-19 cases appeared at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center a Medical School teaching hospital Ellis was in the middle of a surgery rotation. The rotation was part of Elliss Principal Clinical Experience: a full year of learning in the hospital for second-year Medical School students.

But after all students were pulled from clinical work due to concerns over the novel coronavirus, Ellis said his experience in cardiac surgery was postponed indefinitely, along with his forthcoming April and May clinical rotations.

Now, instead of completing his OB-GYN rotation, Ellis is finishing up his second year of medical school virtually. He said that for him and his classmates, the disruption has been instructive but profound.

As medical students, our lives are pretty planned out for a long time, so everything is so routinized for us that its tricky when things get a wrench thrown into it, Ellis said. I think what weve learned and what weve realized is that its important to be fluid.

Like students across all 12 of Harvards degree-granting schools, Medical School students have transitioned to online courses and, in most cases, moved off campus as the coronavirus pandemic escalates.

But unlike their peers in other parts of the University, these students have spent their time at Harvard studying and practicing the very medical scenarios the nation has seen unfolding during the COVID-19 pandemic. The illness has forced them out of the classrooms and hospitals where they had been training to become healthcare workers, just like their professors and supervisors currently working on the front lines.

Ellis said he recognizes that by the time he and his classmates enter the workforce, their medical training will not be as cookie cutter clean as students in years past.

You know, I wish things were different, Ellis said. At the same time, I think its definitely been important to keep in mind that this is an unprecedented time, and no one really has walked this path before.

In early March, fourth-year medical student Josephine Josie T. C. Fisher started a clinical rotation in the emergency department of Massachusetts General Hospital another Medical School teaching hospital to fulfill a capstone course requirement while she prepared to graduate in May.

At the time, the healthcare staff in the MGH emergency room was trying to figure out how to manage suspected COVID-19 patients, according to Fisher, whose arrival at the hospital coincided with that of the first few suspected cases at MGH.

During those early days, MGH put out scores of new policies and procedures basically every single day to protect the students working in the hospital, Fisher said.

We were told immediately in the beginning, Definitely dont see anyone who is worried about having COVID, she said. It got even more restrictive as time went on, which was totally understandable in their attempt to protect us.

Students could not see patients who had coughs. As the hospital prepared for an anticipated equipment shortage, they were also barred from entering rooms that required personal protective equipment, or PPE.

After working in the MGH emergency department for only two weeks, Fisher found out that the Medical School was pulling all students from their clinical rotations leading to the premature end of her final clinical experience as a medical student.

I think we as students like to be super helpful, and we can play important roles, but we are non-essential personnel, Fisher said. Medical care can absolutely be provided without us there.

Then, the Medical School announced that students whose residency programs needed them to start early would be allowed to graduate early. Fisher who is staying in Boston after matching to the MGH internal medicine and primary care program said her program has told its matched students they are feeling appropriately staffed so far.

While Fisher said she wishes she could help right now and the best way I can by getting involved clinically, she also acknowledged it was comforting that MGH was not pressed for resources.

This to me is just very reassuring that I feel like were really lucky here in Boston, that we have these hospitals that are so well-resourced and well-staffed, Fisher said. It takes a lot to get us started as new hires, and so the administrative burden of that is a big barrier that they only want to have to deal with if its absolutely necessary.

Along with the disruption of being removed from rotations or having career plans delayed, Medical School students say the disruption has also led to profound shifts in how they conceive of their roles as future doctors.

LaShyra Lash T. Nolen a first-year medical student and the first black woman to serve as president of the Medical Schools Student Council said in an interview that as students days change, she has taken time outside of class to think on the level of social justice and equity by considering the many societal wrongs the pandemic has revealed and exacerbated.

I think we see this in who is dying from COVID-19 at rates disproportionately compared to others. And I think we see it in the fact that cashiers and folks who are carriers for the mail, they still have to work. Yet there are other individuals who dont have to work, and they are able to work from home, Nolen said.

This has just really made me think even more deeply about injustice in our society and privilege and how that will impact my patients, she added. The pandemic has really exposed America for the unequal space that it is for a lot of people.

Specifically, Nolen said the way the virus has impacted people of color is absolutely unacceptable. She believes working towards degrees in medicine and public policy will give her the tools to address this concern.

I think that its important for me to be able to inform policy and change the rules of our society so that when something like this happens again, these communities have the power to to fight against it and to make sure that they have the tools and the resources to protect themselves, Nolen said. As of now, they are completely bare, and they havent gotten that support that they deserve and need.

More broadly, Nolen said that as she continues her training as a medical doctor, the knowledge that doctors are not getting the protection they need during the pandemic will remain heavy on her heart and mind as hospitals across the country continue to report protective gear shortages.

I think the fact that I have professors who are wearing the same PPE all day is absolutely unacceptable, Nolen said.

If this happens again, who is going to protect me? And who is going to protect the cafeteria workers and the janitorial staff and all of those individuals who are working alongside me when something like this happens? she added.

National projects such as #GetUsPPE, a movement started by emergency medicine physicians, have sought to bring awareness to the need for more protective equipment in hospitals.

Third-year medical student Adam L. Beckman joined #GetUsPPE in mid-March, helping to turn the social media hashtag into a petition. That petition snowballed into a broader project to document the need for PPE and match groups that have PPE to those that still need it, Beckman said in an interview.

Beckman said he is also involved in covid19bill.org, a policy working group that has published recommendations for national legislation related to coronavirus.

The recommendations did have, as we understand it, some meaningful impact in terms of what certain congressional offices advocated for, for the first and subsequent stimulus packages, he said.

Inspired by these nationwide movements, Medical School students founded COVID-19 Student Response, a task force created to coordinate aid between Medical School students and hospitals, on March 15.

The team now has chapters throughout the country, according to its website. Its goals include supporting vulnerable populations and essential health staff, providing educational materials on COVID-19 for fellow medical students and the broader public, and aiding the clinical needs of hospitals through a student workforce.

Medical School Dean for Students Fidencio Saldaa said the completely student run and directed efforts have impressed and heartened him.

This is really outside of the curriculum, outside of any faculty mandate or direction, Saldaa said. Theyve really taken it upon themselves to organize students to be able to contribute to the community.

According to Medical School student Suhas Gondi, virtual efforts like #GetUsPPE, covid19bill.org, and the COVID-19 Student Response task force have inspired many students during a scary time.

But as a student who has completed nearly three of his four years at the Medical School, Gondi said he and many of his classmates believe they have enough experience with patient care to be helpful on the front lines. But the inability to join their mentors and colleagues in the hospitals can leave them feeling powerless.

To be a medical student right now is to be simultaneously energized about the many things that you might be able to do to help out, but also frustrated and helpless about the ways in which we can actually materially contribute, Gondi said.

Gondi said he has found a way to utilize skills from his clinical training by performing volunteer telemedicine for the Crimson Care Collaborative, a student-faculty collaborative clinic that provides primary care for greater Boston with several in-person clinics.

Though the clinics are now closed for in-person services due to COVID-19, many of the hospitals involved, including MGH and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, are relying on medical and nursing students to reach out to patients who may potentially be infected with the virus.

Under the supervision of an attending physician at BIDMC, Gondi said he called a number of patients who had suggestive symptoms but whose cases could not be confirmed due to limited testing, checking up on them to see how they were handling the illness.

Gondi said the calls revealed to him the bitter reality of what the patients were experiencing. One patient he spoke with had been having symptoms for nearly a month and was still feeling terrible, mentally and physically, but had not been able to get tested.

She was telling me about the progression of her symptoms, but what was so clear was the anxiety in her voice, and the feeling that she understood that tests were limited, and she understood that this is a pandemic that no one had prepared for, Gondi said. Even though shes on the tail end of her illness, she really just felt like she needed an answer whether or not she had COVID.

It was a really tough phone call for both him and the patient, Gondi said.

It gives you a window into the anxiety and the toll that this pandemic is having on patients, even those who are not hospitalized, are not in ICU, but are safely in their homes, Gondi said.

Correction: April 20, 2020

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that medical student Adam L. Beckman referred to "congressional officers." In fact, he referred to "congressional offices."

Staff writer Virginia L. Ma can be reached at virginia.ma@thecrimson.com.

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'A Window Into the Anxiety': Sent Out of the Classroom and Off Rotations, Harvard Medical Students Reflect on COVID-19 Pandemic, Offer Aid Remotely |...

Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator and Shreveport Police Chief Ben Raymond explain Gov. John Bel Edwards' stay-at-home order. Shreveport Times

Young medical school graduates around the world are joining the front line fight of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The same is true for recent LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine graduateDr. Gabriel Sampognaro, who is making an early transition from medical school to serve alongside other LSU Health doctors during the coronavirus outbreak.

Though orthopedic medicine is Sampognaros area of practice, his assignment during the pandemic, places him in an LSU Health emergency room.

Dr. Gabriel Sampognaro(Photo: Submitted Photo)

With everything going on with the coronavirus, basically the school halted our rotations, Sampognaro said. We were unable to go to school. Everything at that point, things were changing by the minute. What was Tuesday at 8 p.m. was not the same by Wednesday morning. It got to the point where it looked like we were not going to be able to finish our rotations.

"In your fourth year, most people have finished their rotations anyway and met all of their requirements. I was finished and had a few electives left but it wasnt a required rotation so, I just choose to forgo that rotation basically. People who had not met all of the qualifications yethad the opportunity to finish them online.

Had it not been for the coronavirus outbreakApril 30 would have been Sampognaros graduation day, but that date was moved up to April 13.

People, especially students who matched at LSU Shreveport for residency, who went to LSU Shreveport for medical school, were able to start applying for their (medical) license early in order to help out with the coronavirus, Sampognaro said, adding, he expects to receive his license sometime in early May.

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Once he receives his license to practice medicine, Sampognaro will receive emergency room training to prepare for the time hell help out at LSU Health in a new area of medicine and a new and different time in the medical field.

We were offered start dates of May 1 and June 1, Sampognaro said. I will work in the emergency room up until July 1 and then after that will start my orthopedic residency.

A big part of a medical school graduate's life is the longstanding Match Day tradition and celebrations. But how does one celebrate during the COVID-19 pandemic?

COVID-19 changed the way Americans carry out their daily routines. It also changed the way Americans honor longstanding traditions such as Match Day, a day when the National Resident Matching Program or NRMP, releases results to applicants seeking residency and fellowship training positions in the United States.

Sampognaro, like others around the world, made the most of his big day in his own special way.

"At that point we were able to congregate in groups of 10and not under full quarantine at that point, Sampognaro said. So, my wife, myself, my buddy from school and his wife, got together and had our own miniature Match Day at my house. Our wives printed out our letters and we opened them and read them; that was kind of special.

Graduating medical school is huge deal, especially for parents.

More: LSU Health Shreveport postponing its graduation until time when it's safe for large groups

Obviously, they are very proud of me, but you know were in quarantine and we cant go to see them. Especially my dad, hes 65 years old and my moms in her mid-50s, Sampognaro said. So, I definitely dont want to be around them. Weve talked a lot on the phone and well celebrate when we can all get together.

Navigating the new normal brought on by the coronavirus pandemic is difficult for everybody, but especially difficult for the heroes who serve on the front lines, the essential, working Americans.

Its a little different, weve never dealt with a global pandemic, Sampognaro said. I dont believe my parents were ever forced to stay inside with a quarantine. This pandemic is very serious, and some people are not taking as seriously as they should. But youve got to look at the extreme measures that have been taken with shutting down restaurants and businesses and see what it could have been had we not, and if people dont follow the rules weve been given.

Sampognaro has not been around the hospital much, except to get finger printed and to have a few documents notarized.

More: LSU Health Shreveport among first in US to offer nitric oxide clinical trials for COVID-19

Sampognaro said. It definitely wont be a normal day of walking into the hospital, thats for sure. Ill be joining the front line workers. I believe ER shifts are normally 12-hour shifts. I havent been told yet, but I believe I will be working 12-hour shifts in the emergency room. Its really cool, how all the different aspects of LSU medicine in all the different fields, have come together and are working to fight the virus. The orthopedics team at LSU has started doing some ICU training. At the (core) we are doctors and have the ability to learn what we need to learn. Everybody has come together for extra training to help fight this virus.

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Early LSU Health grad to serve locally on front lines of COVID-19 - Shreveport Times

Its easy to shake our heads at the college students who flouted public health guidance and flooded Florida beaches even as COVID-19 spread across the country. But anger over the self-centered, selfish behavior of some students should not overshadow the remarkable courage and character being demonstrated by another group of students.

The coronavirus played havoc with all types of postsecondary education, and medical schools were no exception. Many medical students found their classes terminated and their clinical rotations cut. But rather than take a vacation from what was an extensive and intensive education journey, many felt called to serve. So they staffed patient hotlines, volunteered as first responders and raised money to buy, or even make, protective gear for hospital staff.

Now, medical schools around the country, like New York Universitys Grossman School of Medicine and Rutgers University's New Jersey Medical School, are holding virtual graduation ceremonies. And many of these newly minted doctors are raising their hands, reciting the Hippocratic oath and volunteering to work in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic -- New York City.

Shortening the length of an education during a national crisis is not totally new. During World War II, both West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy shortened their programs to get young officers to the front lines as fast as possible. The young men (and they were all men at that point) went willingly.

Today, these young doctors are demonstrating that same commitment and idealism. While World War II was fought across the globe, today the front lines are in hospitals spread across the nation. If there is one word to summarize what these idealistic young people share with that earlier generation of heroes, it is courage.

Courage is a curious character trait, because it cannot be seen in advance. Its impossible to tell if someone has it until they are placed in a situation where they demonstrate it.

Allison Horan, a medical student who urged NYU to get her class into the fight, has it. Im signing up, with the understanding that Im here to help and to serve, however is needed, she told The New York Times.

So does her classmate Evan Gerber, who added, It was a really easy decision to do this. You have a moral obligation to society.

All generations tend to think that those who follow them are spoiled, soft, self-centered and unworldly. Perhaps. But its equally true that all generations produce people who are idealistic, purposeful and ready to tackle the worlds great challenges. And while these young doctors may not be launching a battlefield assault, they are voluntarily and eagerly walking -- no, running -- into a modern battlefield. And the veteran doctors who are stretched to the limit saving lives will be grateful for the reinforcements.

So while we criticize young people, including college students, who think only of themselves, we must recognize and applaud those who are using their education and training to serve the public good, even if it puts their own lives at risk. Courage is an old virtue that never goes out of style. And its important to shine a spotlight on it when we see it.

We live in dispiriting times. Its tough to read the daily news, and serious planning for the future seems a fools errand. The Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote, You do not need to know exactly where it is all going. What you really need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.

Thats why these medical students both instruct and inspire. Idealism married with courage is a powerful force. How wonderful and rare to see it so vividly displayed.

Originally posted here:
Medical students are joining the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. Let's cheer them (opinion) - Inside Higher Ed

Many students dream of studying medicine their whole life. Students choose this because medicine is one of the most lucrative careers that a student can choose. On the other hand, students who like other sciences like to pursue a career in engineering after studying from an engineering school.

But theres a problem here, while the number of engineering schools is constantly increasing all over the the globe, the number of medical schools is still way lower than the demand. As a result, from millions of students that apply for medical school, only a few thousand actually get a chance to study medicine.

But the gates of opportunity havent closed yet, as the option of studying medicine abroad is still available. If you think that there couldnt be a better option for you as compared to the medical field, you can try getting into the foreign medical schools to get a change to realize your dreams.

Here are some of the benefits of applying in a foreign medical school.

Wide Variety Of Options

No country on the entire globe has the enough medical schools to accommodate every local applicant. But if you choose to apply for a foreign study opportunity, your chances will increase considerably, and youll have lots of different options to choose from. All you need to apply in a foreign institution is a bit of courage and confidence in yourself, and you can achieve whatever you want.

Becoming An International Student

As mentioned earlier, it takes a bit of courage to apply for studying medicine in a foreign medical school. Well, thats the main reason why a majority of students never apply for a foreign opportunity. That decreases the competition for you considerably, and your odds of getting accepted increase manifolds.

Affordable Fees

There is a common misconception among students that the fees of studying in a foreign medical school is too high. While some of the medical schools do charge more fee, many are well within your range. The fee is very affordable for a wide range of students.

One way to explore affordable opportunities is applying for admission through the foreign exchange programs that many countries and schools offer. There are also lots of scholarship opportunities that you can avail.

Good CV

One of the biggest benefits that any student can get from studying abroad is experiencing a high quality of education on a foreign land. Internationally affiliated medical schools offer the best quality education that you can avail. For example; you can study medicine in Europe in English, and return back to your country with a great CV and academia record.

Many hospitals affiliated with international bodies prefer international degree holders over the local candidates. So, this is a great chance for you to stand out amongst other applicants when applying for a job in any hospital in your country. The house-job/ internship you do in a foreign country will name your CV colorful and top-rated in your own country.

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This Is Why You Should Study Medicine Abroad - - VENTS Magazine

SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner discusses the story of Myron Rolle, a college football standout who is now battling on the front lines in the fight against coronavirus. USA TODAY

USA TODAY Sports takes a look at six former professional athletes who are using their medical careers to fight COVID-19:

Marshall Leonard, MLS:TheformerNew England Revolutiondefendertraded in his soccer jersey for physician attire in the emergency room. The 39-year-old isat a New York-area hospital after completing his ER residency in 2019 at Stony Brook University. He played defenderfor six seasons and 63 games in the MLS from 2002-07.

"I use the analogy to sports because thats all my life was prior to medicine, he said on "SportsCenter" two weeks ago. "I understand very quickly in medical school and my residency, you understand what sickness is, what death is, and you see that on a daily basis, really, in your residency. At the end of the day, you all have this common goal to get somebody healthy or at least calm their nerves in a stressful time."

Mark Hamilton, MLB:The former St. Louis Cardinals first baseman is graduating a month early from medical school in Long Island (Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell). He'll start his residency in June at the ICU at theLong Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore University Hospital.The 35-year-old played 47 games with the Cardinals in 2010-2011.

"I could get the call tomorrow, that it's time to go in," Hamilton told The Associated Press. "I have had an incredible journey to becoming a doctor over the last four years, and not once did I think that I would find myself entering the field in a time like this."

Former St. Louis Cardinals teammates Yadier Molina, left, celebrates at the plate with Mark Hamilton after hitting a solo home run.(Photo: Brian Blanco, AP)

Myron Rolle, NFL:The former Florida State standout is athird-year neurosurgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. The 33-year-old wasselected by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft and spent three years trying to make a career in the NFL before retiring in 2013 to go to medical school.

He skipped his senior season at FSU to accept a Rhodes Scholarship and spend the year studying at Oxford in pursuit of his dream: to become a brain surgeon.

Nate Hughes, NFL:The former Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver is now a first-year resident at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. The 35-year-old graduated from medical school last year. After an All-American college football career at Alcorn State, Hughes made it on to several NFL practice squads and active rosters but a full-time football career never materialized. He took a full-time job as a nurse in 2011.

At the end of June, Hughes will move to New Jersey, where he will spend the next three years continuing his anesthesia training while completing his residency at Rutgers.

"So many people think they know so much about whats going on, but in the grand scheme of thingswe really dont know as much as we would like to know about the virus itself," Hughes told USA TODAY Sports at the beginning of the month.

Hayley Wickenheiser, Canadian Olympic ie hockey goalie:The four-time Olympic gold medalist started attending medical school at the University of Calgary in 2018. She was pulled from her clinical rotation as a medical student in Toronto emergency rooms as coronavirus cases grew rapidly. In Canada, medical students are not allowed to directly treat patients who have contracted COVID-19. So Wickenheiser has been assisting her certified medical professionals by gathering protective equipment for doctors, according to The New York Times. Additionally, Wickenheiser, 41, was one of the key voices to call out the International Olympic Committee for not postponing the 2020 Olympics sooner, helping the Canadian Olympic Committee to pull out of the Games before Tokyo organizers pushed them back to 2021.

Randy Gregg, NHL:The former Edmonton Oilers defenseman, 64, is now a family physician at a sports medicine practice in Edmonton,and back on a March 10 podcast he urged pro leagues to play games without fans before all sports were ultimately canceled.With the Oilers, he won five Stanley Cups, in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990. Following his retirement in 1992, Gregg completed his residency training program at the University of Alberta.

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Six former pro athletes-turned-medical professionals who are on frontlines of COVID-19 fight - USA TODAY

4/14/2020

From left, are Valedictorian Ethan Fleury and Salutatorian Victoria Chmielinski.

PAWTUCKET Tolman High Schools top two students for the Class of 2020 have more in common than their exceptional grades: both Valedictorian Ethan Fleury and Salutatorian Victoria Chmielinski aspire to careers in the medical field because they want to help others.

Fleurys academic and extracurricular accomplishments are outstanding, and Chmielinski is an exceptional student who has achieved remarkable academic and extracurricular successes, said school officials.

Fleury, son of Robert and Martina Fleury, earned a grade point average of 4.214 to earn the number one ranking in his class.

Im very happy, he said of the recognition. I did work hard. Its a big deal, sure, but I just did what I was supposed to do during school. Im appreciative of all the teachers who were there to help me through.

Throughout his high school career, he took Advanced Standing and Advanced Placement courses in all core subjects and was inducted into the National Honor Society during his junior year.

At Tolman, Fleury served as vice president of the student council for four years and as a co-leader of the Gay Straight Alliance during his senior year. He also participated in yearbook, mathletes, and volleyball.

In the fall, Fleury plans on attending the University of Rhode Island to study nursing after which he hopes to study cardiology in medical school.

I want to do something that helps people, he said of his career path. Hes also fascinated by science, biology, and viruses, he added.

Before the COVID-19 crisis hit, Fleury served as a volunteer at Miriam Hospital in Providence.

His favorite thing about living in Pawtucket has been how connected everyone is, he said. Its a nice community.

What will he miss most about Tolman? His friends, he said. I had a really good group. We challenged each other to be better. That group, he said, included Chmielinski.

Chmielinski, daughter of Thomas and Maria Chmielinski, was enrolled in six Advanced Placement courses, received the Principals Award during her freshman year, the Wellesley College Book Award her junior year, and was inducted into the National Honor Society in her junior year.

Its kind of crazy, she said of being named salutatorian. So much hard work has brought us to this moment.

Passionate about tennis, she was the captain of the tennis team during her junior and senior years and received the 1st Team All Division Singles Tennis Award and the 2nd Team All Division Tennis Award during her time at Tolman. When shes on the court, it gets my mind off everything around me and makes me feel better, she said.

She also served as secretary of the Student Council for four years and has been involved in the Math League, SMILE Club, and indoor/outdoor track.

She also volunteered at her church, St. Josephs in Central Falls, teaching younger children about religion, she said.

While Chmielinski recently moved to Riverside, she didnt want to switch schools for her last year of high school. Everything I accomplished was at Tolman, she said. I didnt want to give that up.

Fluent in both English and Polish, Chmielinski said she likes the diversity at Tolman and has enjoyed meeting people from different cultures.

She said her teachers and friends are what shell remember most about the high school. Chmielinski plans to pursue her bachelors degree at Salve Regina University in the fall, studying biology and pre-med after which she hopes to attend medical school.

My goal is to have a career in the medical field, she said. I dont know right now what (specific field) I want. I want to help people.

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, Pawtucket schools switched to a virtual learning model last month and canceled all events for the foreseeable future. Graduations, according to Supt. Cheryl McWilliams, are on hold as administrators wait for guidance from state officials.

Spending their last couple of months as seniors at home has been a challenge, but Fleury and Chmielinski both say theyre adjusting and talk with friends virtually every day.

We were all looking forward to prom, walking the stage at graduation, Chmielinski said.

Everyone feels bummed out by everything being canceled, Fleury said, but added that as time goes on, its getting easier.

More:
Tolman's top two students have their sights on medical school - Valley Breeze

Adapted from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. View the original

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan Medicine is teaming with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 25 other Michigan hospitals to collect comprehensive clinical data on COVID-19 patients to be included in an extensive registry that will provide insight into best practices in treating patients with the virus.

Titled MI-COVID19, the comprehensive, multi-site registry will likely be one of the largest collections of COVID-19 patient data to date. It was developed at Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigans academic medical center, by a team that already leads other BCBSM-funded quality collaboratives.

Because the registry will include anonymous patient data from multiple hospitals throughout the state, it will offer a line of sight across geographic, economic and demographic boundaries. This provides a comprehensive clinical picture thats not typically available from smaller registries that contain data from just one hospital or health system.

Were fortunate in Michigan to have a mechanism in place that enables fast collaboration among providers to address critical health challenges such as the COVID-19 crisis, said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan President and CEO, Daniel J. Loepp. Im incredibly proud that Blue Cross is one of the partners driving this initiative forward.

What we learn from this work will not only help now with currently hospitalized patients, but in the future should we experience another wave of COVID-19 patients, said Scott Flanders, MD, program director of theMichigan Hospital Medicine Safety consortium(HMS), chief clinical strategy officer at Michigan Medicine, and professor of Internal Medicine Hospital Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. Additionally, by studying long-term effects, we can better understand why some people need readmission to the hospital, or how long it takes to return to normal health.

Given the rapid onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding of patient care has been largely anecdotal, with limited data for providers to understand how to identify and treat patients, said Thomas Simmer, MD, chief medical officer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. So, using the existing platform we use in the statewide Collaborative Quality Initiatives (CQI), we were able to rapidly gain statewide provider interest to convene the staff and hospitals necessary to launch this new effort.

The data collection is coordinated through the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety consortium (HMS), a Blue Cross-funded CQI led by physicians at Michigan Medicine and focused on improving quality of care for hospitalized patients who are at risk for adverse events. Additional Blue Cross CQI programs, and U-M faculty and staff are lending expertise, support and resources to this effort.

By analyzing the registry data, participants of the MI-COVID19 initiative aim to identify factors associated with higher levels of critical COVID-19 illness and worse outcomes; identify patient characteristics and treatment regimens associated with improved outcomes; and understand long-term complications for hospitalized patients.

The type of information being collected for the MI-COVID19 clinical registry includes:

The list of participating hospitals continues to grow as this CQI has quickly launched. Currently, the participating hospitals include:

Blue Cross-funded Collaborative Quality Initiatives are internationally recognized, statewide improvement programs that bring Michigan hospitals and providers together to study areas of care that are rapidly evolving, have medical uncertainty, and where best practices are not readily known.The CQI platform has developed best practices across many areas of clinical care. In addition, U-M researchers at the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation have published many findings from CQI data in the medical literature for health care providers everywhere to use.

View original post here:
Michigan Medicine teams with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 25 Michigan hospitals for unique COVID-19 data collection to help determine...

The new United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) donor heart allocation system gives priority to patients supported with nondischargeable mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices while awaiting heart transplant. Whether there has been a change in temporary MCS use in cardiac intensive care units (CICUs) since the implementation of this policy is unknown.To examine whether the UNOS donor heart allocation system revision in October 2018 was associated with changes in temporary MCS use in CICUs and whether temporary MCS use differed between US transplant centers and US nontransplant centers and Canadian centers.In this cohort study, 14 centers from the Critical Care Cardiology Trials Network (CCCTN), a multicenter network of tertiary CICUs in North America, contributed 2-month snapshots of consecutive medical CICU admissions between September 1, 2017, and September 1, 2018 (prerevision period), and October 1, 2018, and September 1, 2019 (postrevision period). CICUs were classified as US transplant centers (n=7) or other CICUs (US nontransplant centers or Canadian centers; n=7).Revision to the UNOS donor heart allocation system.Treatment with temporary MCS (intra-aortic balloon pump, microaxial intracardiac ventricular assist device, percutaneous centrifugal ventricular assist device, venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or surgically implanted, nondischargeable MCS device) during hospital admission.A total of 384 admissions for acute, decompensated, heart failure-related cardiogenic shock (ADHF-CS) were included, among which 248 (64.6%) were to US transplant centers; 126 admissions (51%) were in the prerevision period and 122 (49%) were in the postrevision period. The mean (SD) patient age was 61.2 (14.6) years; 246 patients (64.1%) were male. The proportion of admissions with ADHF-CS managed with temporary MCS at US transplant centers significantly increased from 25.4% (32 of 126 admissions) before to 42.6% (52 of 122 admissions) after the UNOS allocation system changes (P=.004). In other CICUs, the proportion did not significantly change (24.5% [13 of 53 admissions] to 24.1% [20 of 83 admissions]; P=.95). After multivariable adjustment, patients admitted to US transplant centers in the postrevision period were more likely to receive temporary MCS compared with those admitted in the prerevision period (adjusted odds ratio, 2.19; 95% CI, 1.13-4.24; P=.02).In the year after implementation of the new UNOS donor heart allocation system, temporary MCS use in patients admitted with ADHF-CS increased in US transplant centers but not in other CICUs. Whether this shift in practice will affect outcomes of patients with ADHF-CS or organ distribution should be evaluated.

PubMed

Read more from the original source:
Use of Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support for Management of Cardiogenic Shock Before and After the United Network for Organ Sharing Donor Heart...