The pandemic has focussed attention on the incredible work done every day by health professionals around the world – and it has never been more important to train the next generation who will take their place.
Our limited reopening for summer 2021 proved that our programs can run safely with a host of new protection measures in place. Building on that experience, we are now fully reopen for all winter 2021 and summer 2022 programs.
If you are accepted and then prevented from joining the program for any reason related to Covid-19, we will transfer you to any future session on which we have availability, free of charge.
Our requirement for students to be fully vaccinated, combined with their age group, means that the risk to them of becoming seriously ill from Covid is very low (although not zero).
There is a slightly greater risk of students contracting the virus without developing symptoms and inadvertently passing it on to others. Vaccines do greatly reduce this risk, but it is still possible for even fully vaccinated people to contract the virus and therefore spread it in the community.
This risk of asymptomatic transmission is particularly important on our programs, because students spend time in hospitals and communities where patients and elderly or vulnerable people often do not have access to the vaccines. As an organization for students who ultimately want to save lives as health professionals, it is so important that our presence does not put these vulnerable people in added danger.
With this context in mind, the measures outlined on this page are designed to do three things:
1. Prevent anyone on the program contracting Covid-19 in the first place;
2. Prevent transmission within the program group, should one person contract the virus;
3. Prevent anyone in the program group who is carrying the virus passing that on in the community.
All students participating in Global Pre-Meds programs are now required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
We follow the CDC’s definition of being fully vaccinated for this purpose (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html)
All staff who travel internationally to work on our programs are also required to be fully vaccinated.
We are working hard to ensure that all local staff working directly on our programs are also fully vaccinated. With access to vaccines in some parts of the world still being extremely limited, it has not yet been possible for us to make this an absolute requirement. Other measures outlined on this page are therefore also used to mitigate the risk of transmission between students and any unvaccinated staff.
We now provide full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all students and their mentors, included in the program fee.
This includes:
Global Pre-Meds medical scrubs (securely collected, laundered and returned to students after every shift);
Single shift use medical grade face masks with FFP2 filtration for high risk clinical settings (such as hospital shadowing);
Clear plastic face shields as judged necessary by the supervising clinician in high risk clinical settings;
Reusable medical grade face masks with FFP2 filtration for medium risk settings (such as tribal villages and outdoor community visits);
Unlimited single use hair and shoe covers and disposable gloves.
We have redesigned operations across our entire program portfolio to increase space, ventilation and fresh air. We generally now operate our own buses, for example, rather than students using public transport, and our houses have fewer students in bigger spaces.
Students are required to maintain a 6ft (2m) distance from anyone who is not part of the program as far as this is practical.
Students are encouraged to maintain good social distancing within the group. We recognise that there is a balance to be found between good practice on this and having the social support of peers around you.
Our staff and mentors lead by example 24 hours a day, reminding students as necessary to maintain distancing during the program.
Students are required to wear the medical grade face masks that we provide at all times while in high or medium risk settings, including at all times inside hospital grounds.
Students are generally required to wear a (non-medical) face covering in indoor communal areas. All of our houses have significant outdoor space for socialising, and of course masks are not required in bedrooms, bathrooms or while dining!
Students are usually required to present proof of a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours of their program start. Even fully vaccinated people can contract and spread the virus, so this is an important element of keeping Covid out of our programs in the first place.
On some programs, we may require additional testing during the session. This will be based on risk assessments for individual programs, and students will be notified in advance of any such requirements.
Students may be required by their home country or airline to present proof of a negative test before travelling home. Our local teams are available to assist students with arrangements whenever required.
If a student tests positive immediately before they are due to start the program, they will not be allowed to join. We wish that wasn’t the case, but it’s important to protect everyone else on the program. Our Student Support Team is here to work with any affected students and their parents to transfer to any future session of the program on which we have availability, free of charge.
If a student tests positive during the program, CDC guidance requires that they isolate for ten days. This means they will not be able to remain at the Global Pre-Meds house or participate in any program activities, in order to protect other participants and the community.
