MORE THAN A YEAR OF COVID-19: MEDICAL STUDENTS REFLECT ON A UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE For medical students at the University of Kentucky, the COVID-19 pandemic not only shifted their learning experiences, but also demonstrated to them how prepared they are to impact the world through their future careers in medicine.
Amanda McGeorge, Class of 2022, Bowling Green Campus As a member of the College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus inaugural class, Amanda McGeorge knew she had a responsibility to pave the way for future students; however, she didn’t expect to also face the challenges brought on by a global pandemic. McGeorge was in the midst of her second year, on the brink of clinical rotations, when COVID-19 started spreading across the United States. Though students were never put in rooms with COVID-19 positive patients, McGeorge described an everpresent uneasiness with so much uncertainty. The Bowling Green community had a difficult struggle with COVID-19 spread compared to other Kentucky counties. Things really hit close to home about five months into the pandemic when Rebecca Shadowen, MD, a preceptor and clinical role model for students at the campus, died from the illness. “She really was a trailblazer in Bowling Green for what direction to go with everything, and a lot of my classmates worked with her closely in their second year, learning how to approach clinical skills,” McGeorge said. “Knowing we were striving to treat the patients we saw every day, but treating the patients that could be the next Dr. Shadowen, I think that motivated a lot of my classmates and myself to do everything we could and really go the extra mile.” As local, state, and national health experts learned more about COVID-19, restrictions eased, and McGeorge was able to start clinical rotations in her third year. Her first
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