key: cord-0847158-539x37n8
authors: Cervera-Gasch, Águeda; González-Chordá, Víctor M.; Mena-Tudela, Desirée
title: COVID-19: Are Spanish medicine and nursing students prepared?
date: 2020-05-28
journal: Nurse Educ Today
DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104473
sha: ad988b31e03b1b14a20ba61b864f68281e92dee3
doc_id: 847158
cord_uid: 539x37n8

nan

J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f from asymptomatic carriers), governments and health systems are expected to learn from previous experiences and be prepared to respond to these outbreaks by adopting policies that prevent expansion and disease severity, and to guarantee necessary human and material resources and ensure citizens' well-being by covering basic services.

In this context, those responsible for educational institutions are expected to; take previous epidemics as opportunities to improve the educational programmes of future health professionals; incorporate the necessary competences into public health, epidemiology or infectious processes to a greater extent to improve knowledge, attitudes and confidence when faced with of epidemic outbreaks, and their sociopolitical responsibility.

Some studies have analysed knowledge on prevention, attitudes and the willingness of medical or nursing students to either attend infected cases (Patel, et al, 2017 ) (Elrggal et al, 2018 or be volunteers in previous outbreaks (Yonge et al, 2010 ) . However, no articles have been found that explore students' opinions about policies adopted to contain outbreaks. Furthermore, most of these studies have been conducted in the USA or in Asian countries, and no similar studies conducted in European countries are available, including Spain, perhaps because the magnitude and impact of previous epidemics were not considered high in our context. pandemic (Spain, 1a, 2020).

On March 12, the questionnaire was disseminated on social networks (i.e.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp groups) to nursing and medical students. In 24 h, 102 valid responses were obtained from medical (43.1%; n=44) and nursing (56.9%; n=58) students from 11 Spanish universities, of whom 88.1% (n=89) were women (mean age of 21.31 years; ±3.931). Most of the sample had neither a stable partner (65.3%; n=66) nor children (93.1%; n=94), and believed that their health state was good (92.1%; n=93). At that time, 50% of the sample was doing clinical practices. Only 10 students claimed to be in contact with suspected COVID-19 cases and 29 students had classmates who had been in contact with confirmed or suspected cases.

Coronaviruses are a wide family of viruses known since the 1960s. To date, the detected coronaviruses that could infect humans were 229E, NL63, OC43, HKU1;

MERS-CoV (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) and SARS-CoV-1 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). The new coronavirus COVID-19 causes a disease known as SARS-CoV-2 that manifests itself as fever, cough and shortness of breath 2-14 days after exposure. There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19, thus measures to prevent and avoid contagion between people include washing hands with soap and water, using a hand sanitiser containing at least 60% alcohol, and avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth. Another recommendation is to maintain a safety distance between people of 1

No previous studies were found as to how medical or nursing students valued the political measures adopted in epidemics or catastrophes. Perhaps the sample's characteristics could influence these results because: firstly, it was a sample made up of young students; secondly, political competence is not usually addressed in the education of future health professionals; thirdly, their education does not model them in this sense in any case. Furthermore, the fact that nursing is barely present in high political spheres and reference leaders are lacking may also limit their vision of the measures directly related to health micro-management, and macro-management aspects could be avoided.

For all these reasons, it might be difficult for students to understand the depth and necessity of the adopted preventive and social measures.

One extremely relevant aspect for nursing or medical students is clinical practices because they form a compulsory part to passing a degree and generally represent 50% of training programmes. The whole sample (100%) stated that clinical practices had been suspended by the regional government's decision (73.3%) or by the university itself (26.7%). Moreover, 81.2% of the sample agreed with this measure, which was also political in nature, and justified it because they were considered to be sources of transmission and they lacked preparation.

On a daily basis, the Spanish government continues to approve measures to contain the expansion of COVID-19 and to minimise the pandemic's socio-economic impacts.

In fact on 14 March, a state of alarm was declared and a new battery of measures decreed the closure of different types of business to restrict both citizen mobility throughout the territory and reasons for leaving home (Spain 1b, 2020) . Moreover, many students do not seem to agree with the initial package of political measures adopted to contain the COVID-19 extension or social measures. Age, political ideals or lack of leadership models in this profession are factors that can influence this outcome and should be explored in more depth. However, these results reveal the need to face a pending challenge in the education of health professionals, specifically in nursing: the development of political competence.

Perhaps COVID-19 has caught us off guard, or maybe Western arrogance has made us feel too sure that we would not be affected this time either. It is difficult to give quick correct answers in all areas, but it is necessary to start developing strategies to face these situations and to improve our students' preparation. Soon they will be on the front line and who knows if they will have to volunteer before they finish their education.

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Health care student knowledge and willingness to work in infectious disease outbreaks. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness

establishing exceptional measures to limit the spread and contagion by COVID-19, by prohibiting direct flights between the Italian Republic and Spanish airports] (Orden PCM/205/2020, de 10 de marzo, por la que se publica el Acuerdo del Consejo de Ministros de 10 de marzo de 2020, por el que se establecen medidas excepcionales para limitar la propagación y el contagio por el COVID-19, mediante la prohibición de los vuelos directos entre la República italiana y los aeropuertos españoles)