Medical students are currently doing their part in controlling the pandemic by administrating the
vaccine during their rotations and on the weekends.
Year three and four medical students at the Medical College of Georgia begin rotating at
different hospitals and clinics in various fields of medicine. Last spring when the pandemic first
entered the United States, it changed the norm and many institutions were no longer accepting
students into their facilities.
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“Initially, I think everyone was scared of the coronavirus because of how much of a mystery it
was. It didn’t help that the hospital was filled with people dying from it or patients coming in
telling us their husband or mom or dad died from the virus,” said Rohitha Baskar, MS3 MD
candidate and class of 2022 curriculum vice president.
“As time went on though and we started to learn more and more about the virus, I would say I am not scared of it anymore,” Baskar said. “Being vaccinated definitely helps as well! Now, it is time to beat this virus once and for all and try to get back to our new normal life.”
Almost a year later, students are now being trained on administrating the vaccine safely to the
public. “We make sure to double-check the patient’s identification and properly record that they are
being vaccinated in a state-wide portal,” says Baskar.
“Also, we make sure to maintain health safety protocols by switching out our gloves between each patient, constantly hand sanitizing or washing our hands, and always wearing a mask. Also, we try to make sure we only prepare as many vaccines as we can administer as to not waste any vaccines.”
Though little information is known about the virus, Baskar says that the medical staff is
consistently updating students with new discoveries.
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“Please do not believe all the rumors that are being circulated about the vaccine. If we want our
lives to return to as close to normal as possible, getting the vaccine is definitely a big step tow
moving towards it,” Baskar said. “Overall, I have had a great experience administering vaccines to hundreds of people, and I can’t wait to give it to many more.”
Students are trained on the proper procedure to administrating shots. “At first, my hands would
fumble with pulling the vaccines into syringes. The more I did it, the more comfortable I got,”
said Baskar. “Students were given on-site training on how to administer shots. We were also
supervised by nurses for the first five shots.”
Giving the vaccine is an added layer of responsibility for students; however, Baskar was not
afraid. “It wasn’t intimidating at all. It was actually a very humbling experience to know that I, as
well as many other medical students, could be a small part of history,” she said.
Baskar has received the vaccine herself and has not tested positive for COVID-19.
Haley Knight is a contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at haley.knight@TheAugustaPRESS.com
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