Since the Government of Quebec shut down on-campus operations in mid-March, the Student Wellness Hub team (much like the rest of the McGill community) has been working hard to navigate this new, from-a-distance reality. As the Hub’s services have always been centered on in-person appointments, moving to a virtual model virtually overnight has been a learning experience for everyone involved! However we’re proud that we’ve been able to deliver care to our students remotely in such a short turnaround.
Integral to this transition has been the Hub’s team of six well trained and extremely capable nurses who are still helping care for our students remotely. Fortunately, they’ve been able to maintain that care via phone consultations over the past month.
Tara Tombari, the Nursing Manager for the Hub, answered a few questions for us to explain just what those consultations consist of, and how her team is continuing to help support McGill students during this time.
What services are nurses able to offer students during the COVID closure?
“Nurses are offering phone consultations Monday to Friday, during regular working hours. We encourage students with any medical question, be it physical or mental health, to give us a call so we can advise on their options and the best resources for their needs. We can also refer to medical and/or mental health professionals when we see a need for additional medical input. Most questions we’ve been getting relate to STIs, contraception and sexual health questions, mental health support, prescription questions, etc.
We have a lot of appointments available right now, so you can book within a pretty short turnaround time and not have to wait on hold for hours.”
Who can access your services, and how can they make an appointment?
“As long as a student is still in Quebec, you can access our nursing phone services. However, if a student contacts us who isn’t eligible to access services, we’ll still do our best refer them to other available resources, such as Maple or Keep.meSAFE.
Students can call the Hub at 514-398-6017 to make an appointment. Our phone hours are Monday-Friday, 10am–12:30pm and 2pm–4pm Eastern Time.”
Are nurses offering any other services?
“Yes! We’re also hosting weekly COVID-19 information sessions every second Thursday via Adobe Connect. We cover the latest medical information as well as frequently asked questions so students feel better informed about the virus and government guidelines. Information and dates can be found on our website.“
Still have questions? Not sure if it’s worth speaking to a nurse or not? Give the Student Wellness Hub team a call and our administrative staff will help guide you through your options. Our staff are working hard to continue supporting students as best they can, even if that care looks a little different these days than we’re all used to.
As always, if you want to see all the virtual services available to you, visit our website for more information.
