When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Philadelphia in March, the lives of medical students at Penn were suddenly thrown into turmoil. Classes went online, clerkships were disrupted, and many students went back to their childhood homes. Without in-person clinical activities, some students felt it hard to inject meaning into their medical education. “I was feeling detached from the real reason why I went into medicine,” said Yi Zhou, an MS2. “[I wanted] to actually help improve lives.”
The pandemic came at an unfortunate time for Zhou and many of her classmates. Though they understood the gravity of the pandemic, these students could not actually help frontline workers battle COVID-19 in the clinical arena. As she worked to respect public health guidelines by staying at home, Zhou felt stuck in limbo. How could she get to know the community she wanted to serve if she could not spend time with patients?
In the face of this crisis, members of the Penn community were forced to get creative. Looking for a closer connection to the Philly community, Zhou joined the Social Needs Response Team (SNRT), an interdisciplinary team of medical, nursing, and social work students. Founded in April by Penn Medicine’s Center for Health Equity Advancement and the Department of Case Management and Social Work, the SNRT has worked to meet the urgent social and financial needs of patients who test positive for COVID-19. “Once diagnosed with COVID-19, many patients lose their income,” said Zhou. “This can lead to downstream consequences, such as being unable to afford housing… or basic [necessities] like utilities or groceries.” While clinicians have focused on the physical manifestations of COVID-19, the immediate social concerns this disease produces for patients are often not addressed.
Soon after she joined the SNRT, Zhou got a firsthand glimpse of how COVID-19 can wreak havoc on patients’ lives. During her first shift, Zhou spoke with a contract worker who had been referred to the SNRT for problems paying his utilities. Living at home with his father, who had not yet tested positive for COVID-19, the patient was concerned about his family’s welfare.
As she dug deeper into the case, Zhou realized that a lot of the patient’s issues stemmed from the fact that, after his COVID-19 diagnosis, he was unable to work. As he quarantined at home, the patient worried that he would get fired. Since he had lost his first job earlier in the pandemic, he also worried that he would not be able to get additional workers’ compensation. Though the patient had tried to call the unemployment office multiple times, he was not able to reach them. When Zhou suggested that the patient send a letter to the unemployment office, she realized that he did not have access to a printer or stamps.
“I just remember [wondering] what it would feel like if there was no way for me to even get money to live off of,” said Zhou. Thinking on her feet, Zhou found creative ways to help the patient find the resources he needed. She helped him access stamps for his letter, found a way for him to apply for utilities support, and connected him with a community health worker for longer-term support. Ultimately, these interventions helped the patient get back on his feet.
Although the SNRT cannot always find immediate, straightforward solutions to patients’ problems, patients often still appreciate being reached out to. “Some of the patients diagnosed with COVID-19 haven’t heard from anyone in a week or two,” said Zhou. “Sometimes a phone call to check in makes a big difference.”
Through her work with the SNRT, Zhou believes she has been able to find concrete ways to not only improve patients’ lives, but also her own communication skills. She has found that kindness, genuine empathy, and creative thinking are key to successful patient interactions. “I think it takes a lot of trust building before these patients open up to you,” she said. It can take hours and even multiple sessions for patients to start talking about issues in their home and social lives.
Apart from improving her relationship with patients, the SNRT has helped Zhou develop important professional skills. In addition to the more than 20 medical students who work on the team, there are also a number of students from Penn’s nursing and social work programs. This collaborative environment has provided a hands-on opportunity to practice interdisciplinary work. “It has been very interesting to see how students from other professions approach the program,” said Zhou. “They help us see problems in a different light, and teach us better ways to evaluate patients’ needs.” Through the team’s weekly huddles, Zhou has learned from the experiences of other volunteers and worked with teammates to develop new, creative strategies to address patients’ concerns.
Though the SNRT currently focuses on patients diagnosed with COVID-19, it would like to expand its services beyond the pandemic. “Even if they are not acutely sick with COVID, a lot of our patients have unmet social needs,” said Zhou. “Our goal is to ultimately make [the SNRT] part of Penn Medicine.” As the SNRT’s Chair for Expansion and Recruitment, Zhou hopes the program can become a more permanent way for healthcare students of all disciplines to address the underlying social needs of patients at Penn.
Writer’s note: Quotes edited for clarity.
