North Macedonia has mobilized final-year medical students to help control a surge of new COVID-19 infections in the country. The students, in their sixth year of medical studies, will help with contact tracing activities to boost the capacity of public health teams. Their role will be to help epidemiologists call patients, prepare reports and process public health data.
A preparatory training developed and conducted in the local language by WHO and the Institute of Public Health was essential to getting the future contact tracers up to speed. North Macedonia’s contact tracing system was explained during online sessions, which included interaction among participants and discussions of practical examples from the field. One participant noted, “The training was a good experience for me, especially the second part where practical aspects of data management were explained.”
The training introduced the science of COVID-19, the origins of the virus, clinical signs and symptoms of infection, risk factors, diagnosis, and the best strategies to control COVID-19 transmission with a focus on contact tracing, isolation and quarantine. In addition, it presented risk communication and community engagement as public health interventions that contribute to effective COVID-19 contact tracing.
When asked to give feedback about the training, over three quarters of participants reported that they were highly satisfied, and almost all graded it as excellent or good. Over 90% reported feeling more competent and confident to carry out contact tracing in their assigned geographical areas.
Student engagement will last 6 months, with 50 new students joining public health centres every 2 months. As well as helping their country to respond effectively to the epidemic, participating students will gain valuable experience in public health clinical practice.
WHO is continuing to assist North Macedonia in monitoring and shaping its public health response. Involving medical students in the fight against COVID-19 provides direct support to health workers and health-care systems, which shoulder the biggest burden in this crisis.