DEEP DIVE Community college students struggle for clinical hours as classes go online – Education Dive
Healthcare students are eager to combat the coronavirus, but they’ve been sidelined by campus closures and shelter-in-place orders.
In February, Jennie Castillo was completing her required clinical hours at the University of California Davis Medical Center to become a respiratory therapist when she came in contact with a patient who tested positive for the coronavirus soon after.
The patient, who hadn’t interacted with someone with a known case of coronavirus or recently traveled to a foreign country, became the first known person in the U.S. to have potentially caught it through community contact.
The revelation was a sign the virus was spreading on American soil. But for Castillo, it meant she had to pause her clinical work and self-quarantine for 14 days to ensure she hadn’t contracted the virus from the patient. She became restless over the two weeks, knowing she was falling behind in her clinical hours.
When she emerged from self-isolation, the world was different. Colleges were pulling students from clinical placements and moving instruction online.