Medical Student Vaccinator Training
MCW’s Hub Clinic administered 19,300 vaccine shots during its tenure. The 10,000th shot was administered by M1 medical student Natalie Yass, a reality that would not have been possible without the hard work and coordination of a team involving Academic Affairs, the Kern Institute, the Office of Research, and the School of Pharmacy.
In late January, a call went out to all Milwaukee campus medical students soliciting interest in becoming trained as COVID-19 vaccinators for the Hub clinic. A total of 259 medical students responded to the initial call. At that time, Academic Affairs initiated planning and coordination of a three-phase training program to teach the students how to properly administer intramuscular vaccines.
The first phase of the program, designed by Dr. Marty Muntz, involved completion of an online training module in Brightspace. Once students completed the module, they were required to pass a brief knowledge-based quiz to gain access to the sign-up for the second phase of training. The second phase, designed and overseen by Dr. Bruce Campbell, involved practicing sterile injection technique in the presence of a trained vaccinator and being checked off on an approved checklist. In the third and final phase, medical students were scheduled in the Hub Clinic in two-hour observation shifts, where they vaccinated individuals under the direct supervision of an MCW faculty member. Following completion of the training program, the students were eligible to be scheduled in the Hub Clinic and certain community clinics as vaccinators.
As of Friday, April 9, 163 of the students had completed training, with an additional 15 working to complete their in-clinic observation shift. Opportunities for the medical students to vaccinate in community clinics, such as those formed for Milwaukee Public Schools employees, are being negotiated and made available on a continual basis.
Thank you, team, for making this opportunity available to our medical students and bringing this resource to the Milwaukee community!