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Stanford Medicine he apologized on Twitter Friday after protesters tasted their vaccine circulation plan that left out almost its residents and relatives, many of whom are treating COVID-19 patients. But some say the mistake shows the residents’ need for better representation and advocacy.
Although only seven of Stanford’s more than 1300 residents were initially selected to receive the vaccine, many workers who had no direct contact with sick patients received some of the first 5000 doses, according to The New York Times ,
A Stanford resident was shown in a San Francisco Chronicle video, saying that while the complaint was filed by the residents, they and others were fighting back for those who were companions and the nurses who were left off the list.
“This is not just about the residents. The people you see here are all residents because we are close and it was easy for us to collect all our programs,” but he said there were some their other groups, including some pediatric nurses and respiratory therapists, are also neglected.
“Residents may die before”
Protesters had signs saying, “Lack of Priority,” “Help me help my patients,” “Frontline and Forgotten” and “Residents can die too.”
According to NPR, a council of top residents sent a letter to Stanford executives Thursday night expressing anger over the allocation plan.
On Friday, the dean and executives of Stanford emailed staff: “We are writing to acknowledge the serious concerns expressed by our community regarding the development and implementation of our vaccine circulation plan. We will We are fully committed and we apologize for the fact that we should have moved more quickly to deal with the errors that resulted in our unintended consequences, “they wrote.
“We are working quickly to address the shortcomings in our plan and develop a revised version.”
Stanford did not respond prior to publication to Medscape Medical News’ questions about what the revised plan would look like.
The apology noted that more people would be able to access the vaccine with the next shipment of vials, which they were expected to arrive this week.
Carrie Rassbach, MD, director of the Pediatrics Residential Program at Stanford, said others in the meantime are stepping up.
“The Chair of the Peds Division, Heads of Division, Associate Chairs, directors of education and others who are not at high risk have offered to wait for the vaccine to be offered to all households with a clinical face,” he said. i write on Twitter.
Better representation is required
The New York Times, who received a copy of the memorandum on the selection process, stated that the flawed plan was designed by researchers and ethics and that the goal was to assign a risk score with an algorithm for hospital staff that would measure the highest risk for getting the virus and being severely ill, using factors such as age, job description, and the number of COVID-19 cases detected in the person’s category.
Residents, who are usually younger and work in many areas, moved down the list.
The Amannan they stated that hospital administrators intended to revise the list generated by the algorithm, but the memo revealed that this did not happen due to the rapid generation of the list and flying frenetic communication among administrators who was above them.
Janis Orlowski, MD, chief health care officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, said Medscape Medical News The Stanford glitch was not something they expected when the AAMC sent instructions to medical centers a week before the Pfizer vaccine came out.
She said she believed the group needed medical students to apply for the early vaccination, not the residents. She and others expected that residents would certainly be recognized as essential front-line workers and given priority for vaccination.
“We issued a note stating that medical students, as residents and physicians – if they were in a clinical circulation – should be considered essential workers and should receive the vaccine as individuals in their group, “Orlowski said.
She said she had not heard of problems such as the spread of the vaccine at other centers and that Stanford’s problem seemed to be an “unfortunate” event – “good people trying to do the right thing and it was a misuse. “
Maximilian Cruz, MD, a fourth-year resident of Ohio reported Medscape Medical News Although he did not think residents had been neglected since Stanford’s first vaccination phase, he said it highlights a larger issue: “lack of resident representation.”
He said, “The only reason residents across the country have mediocre benefits is at best – 401K maids are a pipe dream for most – sad maternity leave and usually father leave non-existent, wages largely from the 60s when adjusted for inflation, etc. . “
“I believe Stanford residents complained – in a way that ensured safe patient care – was justified, and helped to bring out a swift leadership response,” he said. Cruz, who is president-in-chief of the National Association of Med-Peds Residents.; He confirmed his views on the matter alone.
Cruz highlighted the major inequalities in health care that the pandemic has highlighted.
“The lack of representation and power that residents have in workplace decisions that directly affect them can be added to that list,” he said.
Marcia Frellick is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. She has previously written for the Chicago Tribune, Science News and Nurse.com and was an editor at the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cincinnati Enquirer, and the St. Louis. Cloud (Minnesota) Times. Follow her on Twitter at @mfrellick