Coming full circle — Patients share childhood memories with student doctor Juliana Ang
Unable to spend Christmas with her family in Malaysia, Year 4 Student Doctor Juliana Ang began supporting the COVD-19 vaccine roll out in community centres, care homes and outreach shelters across the city.
At the Lee Jones Community Centre, GPs, pharmacists, vaccinators, and administrators all work together as a team. Some of the elderly patients share their stories about the community centre with me, about how they used to come to this exact centre when they were children to play, and how it has helped many children over the years.
Now, things have come full circle, and this centre is once again serving and protecting them.
On 30 December there was an urgent call for support at Stonedale Lodge Care Home the very next day, New Year’s Eve. I offered to help along with fellow students Riana Kumar and Tim Chan who were also unable to travel back to their home countries. Who would have thought we would be helping with the vaccination programme on New Year’s Eve?
In a care home setting, the GPs are responsible for administering the vaccines, while student doctors support with administrative work.
The GPs who were working that day were all spending time away from family on New Year's Eve to deliver the vaccine.
It truly is admirable to witness such selfless acts of service.
When the opportunity to help at the outreach shelters came up, I could not wait to help out. This initiative is run by GPs and staff at Ropewalks General Practice and they have been looking after the welfare of many of these tenants for a long time now. It really warms my heart to see the good relationships between the GPs and the tenants at these hostels.
Being able to help deliver the vaccines as a student doctor has really given me a sense of fulfilment and joy. I am so inspired by everyone who has been working together to deliver the vaccines and I remain committed in being of service to others during this pandemic.
Student doctors supporting vaccine rollout
Student doctors from Years 3 to 5 currently have the option of taking on additional hours outside of their normal NHS training hours. The School and NHS partners are working together to ensure they can do so safely and efficiently. If you are a student taking part and would like to share your story, get in touch with mednews@liverpool.ac.uk.