I was halfway across the world in Malaysia on my medical elective when the COVID-19 crisis was declared a pandemic by the WHO. This announcement was followed by booking last minute flights, two weeks of government recommended home isolation and a very swift graduation in absentia from the University of Oxford.

Soon after, I returned to Oxford to help with the John Radcliffe Hospital’s efforts against the virus, on the wards as a doctor and in research with COVID-Surg team. COVID–Surg is an international, real-world data sharing initiative set up by a group of frontline surgeons and anaesthetists to rapidly deliver studies on COVID-19 in the surgical setting. It tracks the outcomes of surgical patients with COVID-19 infection, with the aim to inform the management of these complex patients throughout this pandemic and improve their clinical care.

Right now, we are in the data collection phase in Oxford. I am involved in collaborating patient data and outcomes for CovidSurg and CovidSurg-Cancer in Neurosurgery. As a young graduate with aims of being an academic clinician in neurosurgery, it is very empowering to be part of a global network of over 1700 clinicians, across almost 100 countries to participate in research, to work towards a common goal of improving the care we provide and tailoring it to the needs of the patient.

Dr Sanskrithi Sravanam (2017, BA Neurosciences; 2020, MBChB) is a newly graduated medical student from Univ.

Are you involved?
If you are involved in research or frontline work relating to COVID-19 that you would like to bring to the attention of the Univ community worldwide, please email communications@univ.ox.ac.uk.

Published: 8 May 2020

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