Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed every aspect of healthcare delivery and training. Few studies have reported on the impact of these changes on the experiences, skill development, and career expectations of medical students.MethodUsing 59 responses to a short reflection essay prompt, 3rd year medical students in Philadelphia described how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their education in mid-2020. Using conventional content analysis, six main themes were identified across 14 codes.ResultsStudents reported concerns regarding their decreased clinical skill training and specialty exposure on their career development due to the loss of in-person experience during their family medicine clerkship. A small number felt very let down and exploited by the continued high cost of tuition while missing clinical interactions. However, many students also expressed professional pride and derived meaning from limited patient and mentorship opportunities. Many students developed a new sense of purpose and a call to become stronger public health and patient advocates.ConclusionsThe medical field will need to adapt to support medical students adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, from an educational and mental health standpoint. However, there are encouraging signs that this may also galvanize many students to engage in leadership roles in their communities, to become more empathetic and thoughtful physicians, and to redesign healthcare in the future to better meet the needs of their most vulnerable patients.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed every aspect of healthcare delivery and training
The medical field will need to adapt to support medical students adversely impacted by the COVID19 pandemic, from an educational and mental health standpoint
During the third year of medical school, students are exposed to different clinical rotations with the expectation that they will use these experiences to inform their selection of a specialty
Summary
The goal of the present study is to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S third-year medical students’ experiences of education, skill development, and career expectations through qualitative analysis
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