UW WWAMI Students Volunteer to Treat COVID-19 Patients

Two second-year Wyoming medical students enrolled in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho Medical Education Program at the University of Wyoming recently took part in a volunteer effort to support COVID-19 patient care at Ivinson Memorial Hospital in Laramie. Luiza Bosch, from Pinedale, and Taylor Thompson, from Cody, volunteered at the hospital’s Outpatient Regeneron Infusion Clinic through Dr. Samantha Herriott, an obstetrics and gynecology specialist. Herriott also is a preceptor for the Wyoming-WWAMI Medical Education Program.

A number of physicians from Laramie and surrounding communities serve as preceptors to work with medical students and provide hands-on experience in hospitals and clinical settings. Both Bosch and Thompson wore full-body personal protective equipment (PPE) and experienced firsthand the challenges many health care providers have faced over the extent of the pandemic dealing with COVID-19 in clinical environments. Student volunteer efforts, along with working alongside physicians and other medical professionals serving as preceptors, are key components of the education and training provided to students in the Wyoming-WWAMI program.

These experiences help prepare students for working with patients on all fronts of medical care and treatment. In the clinic, the student volunteers interacted with real patients and community members by starting the IVs that administered monoclonal antibodies, checked patients’ vitals, checked for signs of anaphylaxis and monitored patient progress.