Volunteering in a Covid-19 hospital is a transformative experience on a personal level, explained a medical student at the Lower Danube University of Galați. “I saw how it is to die in complete loneliness,” he said. “I think this vulnerability should make us appreciate more what really matters: family and friends.”
Răzvan Iacob, a sixth-year student at the university’s Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, worked as a volunteer in the hospital’s triage tents and at the Emergency Reception Unit, working eight hours a day as a licensed generalist nurse.
“Our help mattered. We saw the hospital staff a little more relaxed when they knew we were on duty,” said the young man. “The patients trusted us too. Some even congratulated us for offering to help.”
What marked him the most was the fact that the dying patients are surrounded only by the sick and the medical staff in protective suits, without being able to say goodbye to their loved ones.
“I learned a lot, both professionally and personally,” said the young volunteer. “There were better days, but also critical moments. I saw how a patient is lost, I experienced the loneliness of those who die without being able to talk to their relatives.”
Răzvan Iacob wants to stay in Galați, to specialize in emergency medicine and to try to change mentalities and attitudes in the health system.
“I changed a little too. After all this experience, I think we should all be better, to contribute what we can to get over the pandemic,” he noted.
Sixty-two students from the Faculty of Medicine in Galați volunteer in health units in Galați, Brăila and Tecuci. During the volunteering period, some people became infected with the SARS CoV-2 virus despite protective measures. Fortunately, they had only mild forms of the disease.
Photo source: Facebook / Universitatea „Dunărea de Jos” Galați
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