F E A T U R E
Bent, but not broken: The 2020 medical student experience
Danielle Coleman, Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine Jacob Leary, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Danielle Coleman
Jacob Leary
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned life in our country on its head, the realm of medical education being no exception. Like a whirlwind it came through – shaking up all of our plans, then bringing everything to a crashing halt. As with many other Americans, students were forced to make an abrupt transition to working from home, all while worried about the safety of our loved ones and the security of our careers.
The first wave pushed us to adapt to the unexpected and prepare for an uncertain future. This was a tumultuous time, as each class of medical students faced their own set of challenges. First- and second-year students, whose learning was still primarily campus-based, transitioned to watching pre-recorded lectures from home and completing small-group work and skills labs via Zoom. In an ef for t to protect trainees and conser ve PPE for frontline workers, students in their third and fourth years of training were rapidly pulled from clinical rotations. This left many of the third1 0 C O LO R A D O M E D I C I N E
year students, class of 2021, wondering whether they would be properly prepared to apply to residency programs in the fall. Many still face an uphill battle in their effort to secure sub-internships without the necessary letters of recommendation that would have come from their core clerkships. Others are scrambling to find new ways to augment their skillsets and expand their networks sans the opportunity for away rotations. These rising fourth years from both Rocky Vista and University of Colorado will also be forced to choose their future residency program having never visited it, as all upcoming interviews will be held in a virtual format.
For the class of 2020, the Match Day and commencement ceremonies that typically mark the culmination of years of hard work and dedication for students finishing up their fourth year were transformed into anticlimactic virtual ceremonies. Celebrations too were socially distanced from the community of friends and classmates who had made the arduous journey together. In addition to readjusting to learning from home, students preparing to take medical licensing exams this summer were thrown into another whirlwind as test reservations they had secured months in advance were suddenly canceled with
