Junior doctors: when fresh blood fast-tracks the fight against COVID-19.

On 11 March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. In Europe, particularly in France, hospitals were urged to take prompt measures: cancellation of non-emergent procedures, dedication of units and wards to patients with COVID, and reallocations of medical and non-medical staff.1 Paris and its surrounding region, Ile-de-France, were the most severely impacted regions in France. With a total population of 12 million inhabitants (19% of the French population), hospitals had to provide up to 2600 additional beds in intensive care units (ICUs) (100% more than available) to cope with the pandemic. Medical residents in France represent 32% of public hospital physicians. In the Parisian area, there are 5400 residents, all specialities included, distributed in 100 hospitals. Residents were, along with the other healthcare professionals, on the front line of the fight against COVID-19. Every year, up to 1000 residents are not assigned to any hospital unit, for personal reasons or scientific research projects. At the beginning of the outbreak in early March, identifying this unallocated manpower was essential to alleviate work pressure within hospitals, yet very challenging. Thus, dispatching non-assigned volunteers to departments in need was non-trivial. In France, this mission is usually managed by the Regional Health Agency (Agence Regionale de Sante (ARS)). In the context of the COVID-19 epidemic, ARS and Paris Public Hospitals (Assistance Publique—Hopitaux de Paris) were overwhelmed by overall health management issues, including addition of hospital beds, supply of personal protective equipment and identification of available non-medical staff. On 16 March 2020, three residents who had never worked together—one oncologist, one psychiatrist, one dermatologist—formed a crisis management team (CMT). These three volunteers offered their support to the ARS, and they were delegated for this mission. Their …