The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Dentistry has added 119 third-year and fourth-year dental students to the university’s pool of trained vaccinators.
Assistant professor Meghan Wendland, DDS, MPH, trained the students during the week of April 5 with help from faculty from the School of Nursing and Health Studies.
These students will be entered into the database of students from all four UMKC health sciences schools who are trained to give COVID-19 vaccines, said Wendland, who oversees public health and interprofessional education efforts at the School of Dentistry.
The pool of student vaccinators is a great asset for a variety of vaccine providers, including Truman Medical Centers, the UMKC Health Equity Institute’s partnerships with area churches, and recent UMKC-wide vaccination events, the university said.
Students at one of the recent training sessions noted that the “stick and quick” vaccine technique is different from slow, steady dental anesthesia injections.
“The instruction was very clear, and I hope to get to help with the vaccinations,” said third-year dental student Andrew White. “It’s a little bit of time that could save lives.”
“It’s good to learn another technique,” said student Riley Herr. “This is simple and straightforward, and the instructors made it easy.”
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