Thirty new doctors are entering the field early to aid in the fight against COVID-19, the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix announced Monday.

That’s one-third of the medical school’s 2020 graduating class. The school, along with UA’s College of Medicine in Tucson, announced in late March that they would allow eligible fourth-year medical students to graduate early.

Many of the new doctors are staying in Phoenix to help, particularly by answering calls on a COVID-19 hotline, the university said in a press release.

The students had to apply for early graduation. The Phoenix medical school met last week to consider the applications. The UA's Tucson medical school is meeting this week to consider applications from its graduating class.

Bridget Ralston’s residency at Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix doesn’t start until mid-June, the press release said.

In the meantime, the new doctor will be answering questions on a COVID-19 hotline, which is receiving more than 1,200 calls a day, to help the public and health care workers. She hopes to help relieve the burden on physicians who have more experience, allowing them to focus more on patients.

“There is a nationwide shortage of health care providers,” Ralston said in the press release. “This was true long before COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. Now, that shortage is even more keenly felt, as doctors are struggling to manage the addition of coronavirus patients into their already heavy workload. I applied to graduate early so that I can shoulder some of the responsibility.”

Other new graduates are also helping to staff the COVID-19 hotline, 1-844-542-8201, which is a partnership between the Arizona Department of Health Services, Maricopa County Department of Public Health and the Banner Poison Control Center.

“They have already been extremely helpful and they have allowed us to manage the surge in COVID-19 questions,” said Dan Brooks, a clinical professor of internal medicine and emergency medicine and medical director of the Banner Poison and Drug Information Center.

New doctors who have residencies set up in other states are choosing to stay in Phoenix to help locally before moving elsewhere.

Shanan Immel’s residency starts in June at Tulane University in New Orleans, the press release said. Until then, he’s helping out on the hotline.

“It is critical we use our time and knowledge to offset some of the burden on the health care system and get involved in fighting this pandemic,” he said.

As of now, Arizona hospitals don’t need the immediate help of these new doctors, though the situation is evolving constantly, Megan Kelly, another new graduate, said in the press release.

“In the meantime, I wanted to help with other initiatives in the community that don't necessarily involve direct patient care, but are still efforts to help with the pandemic response,” she said.

Reach reporter Rachel Leingang by email at rachel.leingang@gannett.com or by phone at 602-444-8157, or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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