Students volunteer to join the NHS vaccine team

Hundreds of students are volunteering to vaccinate patients as part of our partnership’s collective response in the fight against COVID-19.

A tremendous number of colleagues across King’s Health Partners have come together to help coordinate vaccine delivery across our six boroughs, including our King’s College London students who are volunteering to support NHS vaccine teams.

Hundreds of King’s College London medical, dental and nursing students are volunteering to help with the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. They share their experiences administering the vaccine:

Alexa Wilms, second year medical student

While families across the UK were readjusting their festive plans late last year as the government tightened social restrictions, King’s College London student Alexa Wilms was preparing for her first vaccine shift at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Alexa says:

I thought it would be eye-opening to experience working in healthcare during a pandemic, in particular a department that is so involved in the frontline.

Alexa is just one of the hundreds of King’s College London medical, dental and nursing students who have volunteered to help vaccinate south London’s most vulnerable patients. Responding to urgent requests from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in December and January, the students have been placed in unregistered immuniser (vaccination support workers in training) and administrative roles.

. Alexa says:

You can sense a lot of hope among the patients. A lot of them express how excited they are to be slowly making the steps to head out of this pandemic. I often also experience how grateful the patients are - one even offered to buy my colleague and I a coffee to show his appreciation.

Pinky Kotecha, final year medical student

Pinky Kotecha, a medical student in her final year, works as both a vaccinator and alerts patients who have been allocated the jab. She said:

I wanted to feel useful to the NHS and be a part of history. Now that my final exams are finished, I’m able to dedicate my time to volunteering. I get to inform patients that they are able to get the vaccine and it’s like giving them a golden ticket.

Curran Patel, final year dental student

Curran Patel, a final year dental student, has signed up to join the vaccination effort. He saw it as a vital opportunity to contribute to the effort to combat the pandemic. He explains:

Fifth year dental students have a wide breath of clinical skills that are directly applicable in this role as a vaccinator.

For instance, dental students are constantly exercising communicative skills, taking histories, delivering local aesthetic, conducting operative and surgical procedures. Such skills can be extrapolated to this role deeming final year dental students’ ideal candidates.

Curran adds:

The vaccination programme certainly does give me hope of a return to normality and I believe this has been the educated consensus when the pandemic situation started in December 2019. It is the only route to normality and I’m proud to be part of the effort.

Sandra Pereira Brito, mental health nurse student

Sandra Pereira Brito had over a decade of work experience in the health and social care sector under her belt before she started her mental health nursing course at King’s College London. Offering to volunteer for the vaccination programme was not only a chance to help people during a public health emergency, but a chance for her to use her background and the skills gained from her course to improve her practice.

She said:

Through volunteering I can expand my experience, as well as provide skills and knowledge I’ve gained from my course so far. Working as part of the vaccination team I can shadow registered nurses and learn more about the correct administration of medicine, including injections and monitoring the results of treatment.

If anyone comes for a vaccination and is feeling apprehensive, Sandra hopes to be able to offer reassurance to patients and their loved ones when she begins her volunteering.

I want to be able to help build relationships with patients to encourage trust, while listening to and interpreting their needs and concerns, and if any patients are feeling anxious, I can support them in managing their emotions through de-escalation techniques.

Prof Kim Piper, Dean for Education at King’s Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences is pleased the dental students are able to help Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Kim says:

The clinical dental students have experience of treating patients and performing injections as part of their course so helping this way is a natural extension of their role.