What do you do when you are a medical student and school is cancelled because of a global health crisis?

As universities and colleges across Canada closed classrooms last week in an effort to slow down the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students at the University of Toronto decided they wouldn’t just sit back.

A small group quickly gathered, and an idea was born. The students recognized that many doctors and health care professionals would need to stay at work to battle the pandemic — what if the medical students could offer support to these front line health care workers outside of the hospital wards?

“We are not licensed yet to provide medical help but many of us have a lot of talents and experiences, and we can do many things to help,” said Jordi Klein, a second-year medical student and one of the organizers.

“Word had started to spread earlier on in the medical circles that this virus could get serious, so it didn’t catch us by total surprise and we had started to think about how to respond.”

Klein and a handful other students created an online form and distributed it to a wider network. Anyone available and willing to spare a few hours of their time would be matched with anyone in the health care community who needed assistance.

By Thursday afternoon, 274 students had enrolled as “health care volunteers,” and 155 nurses and doctors had signed up for their help. Students from other schools have also joined the program.

Klein said the students are available to offer all kinds of support, but that demand is greatest for babysitting because child care centres have closed during the pandemic.

Klein added that health care providers have also asked for help with mundane activities such as grocery shopping and running errands, picking up prescriptions and taking care of pets.

There have been a few instances where musically inclined students have played guitar or piano for patients to keep them company, Klein said.

It’s yet another example of “caremongering,” in which Canadians from all walks of life are stepping up with acts of kindness during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We know that these services are essential for health care workers to continue serving on the front line,” said Daniel Lee, a medical student who is helping co-ordinate volunteers. “In a time of crisis, it’s important that everyone steps up and helps in every way that they can.”

This initiative is a way of showing appreciation to “our mentors and teachers,” who have no work-from-home option during the pandemic, added Lee.

“They charge into work to help patients,” he said. “Their noble and selfless actions inspire us so much. They should know that we appreciate every single person who is involved in patient care.”

As part of the initiative, Raymond Chen babysat a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old this week for a nurse who lives in the Beaches neighbourhood.

“They were pretty nervous around me the first time because they didn’t know me,” said Chen, a 23-year-old nursing student at U of T, “but now they are excited when they see me coming in.”

Chen said he was happy to sign up because he had “lots of free time” while classes were suspended.

Time will be tighter when classes resume online next week. Klein said it’s hard to know how their team will function as the situation evolves, and predicts that it will require “a sound degree of flexibility.”

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But they know the effort they are putting in is worth it.

“Frontline workers are basically risking their lives every day to help us, to take care of us,” Klein said.

“This just feels like the least we can do.”