Since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, almost 1,350 students of the University of Debrecen have been involved in some form of control against the epidemic. Young volunteers also provide ongoing support to health workers in screening, vaccination, nursing and administrative tasks.
Volunteers who have volunteered in recent months have been widely employed in various fields. Students from several faculties of the University of Debrecen, most of them from the Faculty of General Medicine (MSc), the Faculty of Health (EC) and the Faculty of Public Health (NK), as well as the Faculty of Dentistry (FOK) and the Faculty of Pharmacy (GYTK).
More than five hundred of the ÁOK have already volunteered in hospitals and ambulance services. The head of the faculty believes that the young people have provided the maximum so far and are setting an example.
Our students deserve respect, recognition and sincere thanks. They are serious partners in ensuring that the transfer of curriculum and practical competencies can take place in full, while maintaining the quality and content of the training. They attend online classes and work enthusiastically and disciplined on the necessary attendance exercises. In addition to the challenges associated with education, clinical volunteer work and assignments were and will continue to be done responsibly.
– emphasized László Mátyus, Dean of the Faculty of General Medicine.
Students from the Faculty of Public Health of the University of Debrecen also take part in the volunteer work, a total of more than 180 young people joined the defense. The students perform nursing tasks in the hospital work, assist the staff of the OMSZ in screening, and support the vaccination activities of the general practitioners in Debrecen.
We consider the active participation of the students of the Faculty of Public Health in epidemiological control to be extremely important, as they acquire all the competencies necessary to perform the tasks of a health professional in the basic part of their training, which makes them suitable for participation in control. During their volunteer work, students acquire, in addition to their existing theoretical knowledge, the practical skills that will support their placement and position in the labor market. Based on the feedback, the host organizations are satisfied with the preparedness and professional attitude of our students.
– Judit Zsuga, the dean of the DE Faculty of Public Health, told hirek.unideb.hu.
More than two hundred students from the Faculty of Health volunteer. The young people work at the Nyíregyháza ambulance station, COVID screenings, but they also help the hospitals in the COVID departments or other departments to perform basic care tasks. In some cases, they are also involved in vaccination-related administrative activities.
As these are health students, this volunteering is not only to be understood in the traditional way, but can also be considered as a supporting activity, professional socialization. They will be involved in activities that will be carried out when they become graduate workers. They work with paramedics, hospital professionals, and can also show up in the wards where they will spend their internship time. As volunteers, they do not take part in organized activities related to education, but are free to decide whether or not to take on the job.
– emphasized Marianna Móré, Dean of the Faculty of Health at the University of Debrecen.
71 of the students of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Debrecen joined the epidemic. Last year, they helped the public pharmacies with voluntary pharmacy work, in the autumn, when the epidemic intensified, they mainly took part in the screenings of the National Ambulance Service (OMSZ), and they also carried out administrative activities in the hospitals.
-Pharmacy students have proven that they can also be expected in health care in an emergency. Next week, 11 of our students will join the OMSZ filter work in Hajdú-Bihar County. During the voluntary work, the students gain practical experience in areas that they had previously acquired during their theoretical studies in public health and epidemiology.
– said Miklós Vecsernyés, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the DE.
The work of the health care system burdened by the coronavirus epidemic was also assisted by 93 students of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of Debrecen since October.
It was a really trying time for everyone, but especially for our students. They also had responsibilities that put extra strain on them. They participated in OMSZ sampling and in the December coronavirus testing of educators. We can be justifiably proud of them, as they were able to adapt quickly to the education system that was transformed in the meantime, and they were partners in the transition to a digital or even hybrid education system. Rather, they found it difficult to comply with strict regulations and restrictions in patient care, but this was also reconciled with education. Our students have acquired sufficient skills in the field of infection control, as due to the pandemic they have fallen into the organization of patient care not typical of peacetime, the transformed patient care, and the regular use of protective equipment has become routine for them. In addition, they may have gained a lifetime of experience and experience.
– said Kinga Bágyi, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry.
The cooperation between the Student Self-Government of the University of Debrecen (DEHÖK) and the management of the university is also continuous in the organization of epidemiological protection, several student leaders participate in the meetings of the university epidemiological working group.
The University of Debrecen pays special attention to ensuring that no volunteer or seconded student can be disadvantaged in terms of their studies. In addition to providing assistance in study matters, the Student Self-Government of the University of Debrecen also supported students working to curb the epidemic with financial benefits. DEHÖK provided two types of additional benefits in the form of scholarships: on the one hand, it supplemented the state remuneration with fifty percent of it, and on the other hand, it awarded a one-time grant of HUF 10,000 to all students participating in the defense. The Student Self-Government of the University of Debrecen continuously collects student feedback, which is immediately forwarded to the competent authorities.
– remarked István Csont, President of DEHÖK.
He added that some of the students apply on their own, but at the end of last year, they recruited young people several times through social media. The President of DEHÖK said that student participation in epidemic management takes place according to a pre-determined management schedule, based on the feedback, most people mark work at vaccination points first, followed by tasks performed at the National Ambulance Service, and then hospital assignments.
This semester, volunteering is accepted in the faculties as part of the internship. Those who do not have to complete an internship will be recognized as participating in epidemiological control in the form of optional credits.
Students interested in volunteering are informed about their application opportunities separately in the fields of medicine and health sciences, as well as in other faculties in the form of Neptune and e-learning messages.
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