PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jayamala Patel
AU  - Tim Robbins
AU  - Harpal Randeva
AU  - Richard de Boer
AU  - Sailesh Sankar
AU  - Simon Brake
AU  - Kiran Patel
TI  - Rising to the challenge: Qualitative assessment of medical student perceptions responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
AID  - 10.7861/clinmed.2020-0219
DP  - 2020 Nov 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - e244--e247
VI  - 20
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/6/e244.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/6/e244.full
SO  - Clin Med2020 Nov 01; 20
AB  - Background Medical students internationally have volunteered and stepped up to support frontline clinical teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. We know very little about the motivation of those volunteering, or their concerns in deploying to a new role. We aim to establish the reasons that medical students volunteered in one Trust and understand to their concerns.Methods Structured survey, thematic analysis and categorisation of volunteer student perceptions.Results Medical students volunteered for broadly four reasons: to make a contribution, to learn, to benefit from remuneration and for an activity during the national lockdown. There were disparate concerns; however, the most common involved availability of personal protective equipment, uncertainty as to expectations and becoming infected.Conclusions We must recognise and applaud the motivations of our future workforce who have stepped up to support the NHS at a time of unprecedented demand. The experiences and learning gained during this period will undoubtedly shape their future medical training and careers.