The students pandemic response efforts began shortly after they were no longer allowed to go in hospitals to gain hands-on training, much of which occurs during the third year of medical school.

It was definitely disappointing because we wait our whole lives to get to this part of medical school, said fellow student, Grace Lee. It left us with a lot of time on our hands and wanting to help.

Channeling that desire to assist local health care workers, some of whom they had been working with prior to the outbreak, was sparked by a text from their classmate, Vaishnavi Sridhar.

She actually asked our group chat about starting to help the residents and attending physicians with childcare and groceries, Kar said.

As the statewide social distancing guidelines grew into a stay-at-home order, the students efforts evolved from helping out with general errands to raising funds and coordinating with businesses to get PPE for the workers.

They also decided to use their annual student open mic night as an online fundraiser for the effort and reached out to the broader VTC community for help putting together a lineup. The group email asking for help connected them with Becki Morrison, the lead vocalist with a regional band, Becki and the Boom Booms, and an occasional standardized patient with the medical school.

I was in the unique position as working with the school and having a band, and also knowing all of these great musicians, Morrison said. I thought, if theyre struggling to pull together music for this fundraiser, I have the inside loop to that.

With Morrisons help, within 10 days the lineup was filled out with about 10 Roanoke-area musicians and three medical school students. Cary Brothers also learned of the fundraiser via a medical school employee and quickly signed on as the finale for the event, which had a goal of raising $1,000.

Kudos to the students who put on this event, Brothers said. Their cause is noble, and the show was every bit as smooth and technologically sound as the online charity shows Ive played in recent weeks run by music industry folks. I think the students did a great job, and Im so happy they hit their goal.

While the pandemic caused the students to miss out on learning experiences in the hospitals, they feel the experience fundraising and locating PPE has helped them learn many other valuable lessons.

[Were seeing how] how difficult it is to navigate the health care system, Lee said. This is really shining a light on the systemic issues within health care by showing us the challenges that we are forced to face during a pandemic. We are learning how to promote public health as well as advocate for the safety of health care workers.

And being located in Roanoke has also helped enlighten them to health care related disparities that exist between localities.

Weve seen how an emergency situation of this scale impact communities and how rural voices get lost, Kar said. When theres a global lack of PPE, were almost at the bottom of the totem pole, even though our patients continue to get sick. We have similar needs, but not as many resources.

Travis Williams

Read more:
Cary Brothers Lends A Hand to Aspiring Physicians Fighting Outbreak in Roanoke - The Roanoke Star