OMS-III, Renate Meckl, OMS-III and Leah Merker, OMS-I have all served as contributors for the COVID-19 LST, reading research articles, writing summaries, and grading the level of evidence based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine criteria. Justin Doroshenko, OMS-IV has served as a senior editor for the report and as the organization’s director of operations.
The COVID-19 LST was founded by Jasmine Rah, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington and her mentor, Dr. Will Smith, an emergency physician in Wyoming and a Colonel in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army Reserve. Dr. Smith was activated by the Army in response to the pandemic and needed a better way to stay current with the overwhelming amount of emerging COVID-19 literature. When her clinical rotations were suspended due to the pandemic, Rah began reading literature and writing summaries to produce a report. This report evolved into the COVID-19 LST, which has consisted of more than 100 medical students, researchers, and physicians from over 20 institutions over the past year alongside team members that assist with technology, social media, and outreach. The COVID-19 LST is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and entirely free, open access. While the COVID-19 LST was originally designed to guide clinical decision making for healthcare workers, it has grown to guide policymakers and various government agencies. Specific users have included several senior leaders in the US Army, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Transportation, as well as several academic institutions.
Apart from contributing to the body of research during an ongoing public health crisis, the medical students from UNE COM and other institutions have been able to use their experience with the COVID-19 LST to improve their skills in reading and analyzing medical literature. The sheer volume of literature allows a lot of practice—the team has reviewed almost 7,000 articles and published over 220 daily reports. The review process is standardized from the initial summary by the contributor through three levels of editing, which allows the team to identify areas where students need help. Training is also standardized, as contributors complete practice articles under supervision of the most experienced editors, and they receive continuous feedback from their editors once they begin contributing on a daily basis. Over time, students are able to critically appraise the literature confidently.
While the initial barrage of literature about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 has slowed down in recent months with vaccinations providing reason for hope, the pandemic continues to affect lives across the globe. The COVID-19 LST will continue serving its crucial role in reviewing literature and providing the “bottom line, up front” to the frontline as it has been for the last year, adhering to the team’s goal of helping providers to “Stay Informed, Read Less, Do More”.
More information about the COVID-19 Literature Surveillance, including how to support their mission or volunteer, can be found at https://www.covid19lst.org/.
Justin Doroshenko, COM '21