Student Vital Signs

by John LeMoine MS III Drexel University College of Medicine/Tower Health Campus

If you witness some Drexel medical students working in the Berks Country area, you might observe a similar pattern. Sure, you might see a few wrinkle lines under our eyes and the frequent accompaniment of coffee, but you would also see an aura of excitement and eagerness marked by welcoming grins, a nod of “Hello,” and quick-paced steps in the wake of our senior physicians. We have just completed the first month of our in-hospital rotations and have begun to transition to a more accurate representation of the physician’s life.

To learn how to be an effective doctor, students must learn the communication and healthcare soft skills in addition to the technical medical knowledge. To demonstrate these skills in a diverse learning environment, students are required to rotate through eight different medical specialties. I have started with a ten-week surgery block. Surgery is known for its long hours, with shifts beginning around 0500 and lasting for 12-13 hours. The bulk of the time is spent in the operating room, but the responsibilities of a surgeon extend far beyond the scalpel. In between operations, we attend to the medical needs of patients admitted to the medical floor, staff the outpatient clinic, and respond to traumas in the ER.

While resident physicians oversee entire floors of patients, a medical student is only assigned 1-3 patients per day. This methodology not only facilitates a more streamlined learning environment for us, but it also allows a broader conversation between the patient and the healthcare team. Students can sit at the bedside and discuss a patient’s pathology and surgical plans, or simply chat about more typical topics to better understand their story. Students and physicians then meet a few times throughout the day to discuss the patients’ status and plan updates. Medicine is all about collaboration and communication, and this includes the patient. The student is present when chatting with patients in pre-op, scrubbing and assisting with surgery, and then wishing good fortune at discharge. There is an empowering and honorable sentiment involved in this communication loop between physicians and patients.

Medicine is a rewarding profession, but it can be emotionally taxing at times. Physicians—and by extension, their students—frequently encounter patients who are suffering, facing life-threatening conditions, or dealing with difficult diagnoses. They must communicate sensitive information, deliver bad news, and support patients and their families emotionally. This emotional burden can take a toll on doctors’ mental well-being and contribute to stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue. Therefore, not only do medical students learn how to treat patients, but we also learn how to face challenging environments and poor outcomes, and just as importantly, we learn how to recover.

Hailing from a small class of forty medical students at Drexel’s West Reading medical campus, we have transitioned from classmates to friends to family. There is no toxic or competitive mindset among us; we are always collaborating and empowering each other. On weekends, we make a point to meet, discuss our week in the hospital, and unwind. We share stories of adversity, but our evenings always end in laughter and optimism.