Unique Opportunity for Students/Residents in Arizona

Unique Opportunity for Students/Residents in Arizona

Optometry students and residents have a unique opportunity to get involved in an exciting new effort that has just launched in Arizona – a partnership between Students Assist America the Arizona Department of Health Services, Pima County Public Health and the Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona.

Students Assist America is a collaborative of 11 national health professions and education organizations, including ASCO, that have come together in an interprofessional call to action across the state. There are two major goals: 1) to enable talented and dedicated students and residents to safely supplement the health care workforce during this time of crisis, and 2) connect optometry students and residents with emergency response groups in Arizona to create meaningful experiences that can help them maintain their clinical education or service learning for the months and years ahead.

ASCO is pleased to be working across professions through Students Assist America to bring together medical, nursing, physician assistant, social work, public health, veterinary medical, pharmacy, optometry, dentistry and dental hygiene, and psychology students/residents with unique skills to learn with and from each other as they engage in organized Medical Reserve Corps opportunities. The types of activities range from contact tracing to staffing mental health hotlines to conducting testing with appropriate PPE. Looking ahead, we anticipate students and residents in the health professions to be an integral part of flu and other mass vaccination efforts as they have during other outbreaks such as tuberculosis and H1N1.

Note that some institutions are viewing these activities as purely volunteer and others have been able to give students credit. Whatever route your institution chooses, please let your students/residents know that these valuable experiences are not only needed and available, but are also very rewarding and can help create a life-long commitment to the public good.

Applicants can be made through the Students Assist America (SAA) page here. There is an FAQ section that addresses many common questions. If you need more information, please contact ASCO’s Executive Director Dawn Mancuso at dmancuso@opted.org to get connected with the SAA organizer.