Maintaining the Educational Pipeline – Archive
(05/24/21) How Medical Jargon Can Make COVID Health Disparities Even Worse
This article from NPR discusses how a student from Harvard Medical School, Pooja Chandrashekar, recruited more than 175 multilingual health professionals to begin the COVID-19 Health Literacy Project. The COVID-19 Health Literacy Project works to ensure access and understanding of medical guidance is available in many different languages, in an easily-understood format.
(04/30/21) Challenges of Transitioning to Residency During Pandemic
The American Medical Association released a discussion on their AMA COVID-19 Daily Video Update platform which focused on the challenges of medical students transitioning to medical residency during the COVID-19 pandemic. The speakers were Kimberly Lomis, MD, vice president, undergraduate medical education innovations, AMA and Eric Holmboe, MD, chief research, milestone development, and evaluation officer, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The discussion also provided solutions to addressing these challenges as well as resources that could assist both medical students and residency programs.
(04/15/21) COVID-19: Impact on Orthopaedic Graduate Medical Education in the U.S.: AOA Critical Issues Symposium
The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the delivery of medical education. In efforts to contain the spread of the virus, physicians were forced to reduce the number of outpatient visits and elective surgeries. The educational instruction of orthopaedic residents and fellows was challenged during the spring of 2020, forcing trainees in COVID-19 hotspots to practice in COVID-19 units. These challenges were highlighted during a recent symposium held by the American Orthopedic Association which addressed the critical issues that affect orthopaedic leadership and practice. A spokesperson for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, a program director, and a graduate resident presented their experiences and perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on orthopedic residency and fellowships.
(04/01/21) Immediate Consequences and Solutions Used to Maintain Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic for Residents and Medical Students: A Restricted Review
This article discusses how medical education has been hugely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how academic teaching has adapted to comply with social distancing measures.
(03/30/21) How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Medical Education During the Last Year of Medical School: A Class Survey
This article examines how medical education has been effected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how telehealth allowed students to continue their education without major interruptions.
(03/28/21) Workforce Development Implications for Health Care Systems During COVID-19 and Beyond
The American Journal of Managed Care held an interview on their MJH Life Sciences’ Medical World News platform with Andrew Malley, the CEO of Dignity Health Global Education. The discussion expounded on the challenges of workforce development for health care workers during the pandemic as well as potential solutions for optimizing workforce development beyond the pandemic.
(03/09/21) Nursing Students Are Mass Vaccinating Atlanta
Georgia State University is using its nursing program to help with mass vaccination in Atlanta. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited many nursing students in how they can acquire their clinical hours, and mass vaccinating is a valuable way to gain training opportunities lost.
(03/08/21) The Transformational Impact of COVID-19 on Medical Education
Students have played a critical role in increasing workforce surge capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article highlights the challenges that students have faced while contributing to the frontlines and the resulting transformation of medical education.
(01/19/2021) My COVID-19 Dream: Training Enough Health Workers
This Lancet article discusses how current health workers can use their knowledge learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to help train medical students and prepare them for future pandemics or health crises.
(12/18/20) Only 7 of Stanford’s First 5,000 Vaccines Were Designated for Medical Residents
Medical residents are an essential workforce treating patients infected with COVID-19, however their needs are not always prioritized by health systems. An investigation from ProPublica found that medical residents were not prioritized for vaccination over physicians who do not usually treat patients.
(12/07/20) ‘Fauci Effect’ Drives Medical School Interest as US Faces Physician Shortage
Medical schools across the United States are reporting substantial rises in applications, with the Association of American Medical Colleges reporting an 18% increase in 2020 compared to 2019. This article from NPR covers the change.
(12/04/20) Thanksgiving on the Front Lines: Doctors Working the Holiday Share Stories of Grief, Stress, and Hope
With cases and hospitalizations for COVID-19 rising across the United States, more health care providers are needed to treat patients during the holiday season. In this article from AAMCNews, physicians from academic medical centers share their experiences working through the Thanksgiving holiday in the COVID-19 pandemic.
(10/20/20) A 28 Year Old Physician Died From COVID-19. Her Death Exposes the Harsh Realities of Medical Training
Following the death of a young physician, the author of this piece published in Forbes discusses the difficulties involved in medical education and residency in the United States, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Residency is well known for long hours and low pay, leading to issues when facing a pandemic of a highly infectious and dangerous disease.
(09/17/20) Clinical Placements for Nursing Students in an Era of Pandemic
A new brief from the Oregon Center for Nursing discusses the necessary pivots many nursing education programs and the facilities they partner with are making in order to meet the changing needs of their community. The report found that as opposed to creating new problems for nursing education, the pandemic is exacerbating old problems and offers some suggestions to improve the situation.
(09/11/20) Colleges Are Mailing Brains to Students to Dissect at Home
This article discusses a move from Lafayette College to send neuroscience students brains in the mail to enable hands-on dissection practice in a remote setting. While there is no substitute for in-person guidance, professors leading students with hands-on practice remotely may be a valuable adaptation to virtual education.
(09/09/20) How Black Doctors Are Answering the Call to Reform Medical Education — and Bringing COVID-19 Vaccine Trials to Communities of Color
An article discussing the way the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Black communities and patients, and how Black doctors and medical students are increasingly calling for reforms to improve the quality of medical education regarding both Black patients and physicians.
(09/08/20) COVID-19 Forces Medical School Students to Learn New Era of Medicine
This local news story covers how medical students at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have adapted their medical education, with increased consideration for public health being necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(09/01/20) Medical Residents Need Support — Financial and Emotional — for Their COVID-19 Work
This opinion piece published in STAT discusses the need to offer more financial and emotional support for medical residents for their participation in the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical students have made many sacrifices to treat patients during the pandemic, and the author advocates for addressing the physical and psychological harm these residents face.
(08/26/20) The Transformational Effects of COVID-19 on Medical Education
This JAMA journal article looks at several common themes that have emerged in medical education during the pandemic. These themes include supporting a robust public health response to the pandemic, adapting curriculum to current issues in real time, ensuring a graduating class of physicians each year without lowering standards, and engaging in crisis communication and active change leadership.
(08/14/20) How COVID-19 is Shaking Up Medical Education—for Good
An article covering some of the changes medical schools have implemented across the United States to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including those which may remain permanent fixtures following. Further education on telehealth services and increased use of virtual meeting spaces may become permanent components of education going forward
(08/14/20) Guidance on Medical Students’ Participation in Direct In-person Patient Contact Activities
The Association of American Medical Colleges has released guidance to help academic medical centers determine which components of medical education are important and practical for the upcoming academic year.
(08/11/20) Back to Medical School During COVID-19
This article from the Association of American Medical Colleges discusses the many aspects of medical education disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the requirements for medical education remain and need to be met in ways that allow for safety and preservation of personal protective equipment.
(07/27/20) Medical School, Blackness and Blame
An opinion piece discussing the impact of racism and racial identity on medical education, especially in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The author, a psychiatrist from Duke University, offers perspective and strategies to address racial issues in medical education and discusses how they have impacted the current pandemic.
(07/27/20) Want to Be a Doctor? A Lawyer? COVID-19 Cases are Rising, but These High-stakes Exams Are in-person Only
An article discussing how the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is still only being allowed to be taken in-person, requiring prospective medical students to face risks associated with large gatherings indoors. There are fears these risks predominately disadvantage rural and poorer students, and may lead to some waiting to take the exam, delaying medical education.
(07/16/20) Applying to Residency is Tough Even in Normal Times. The Pandemic isn’t Helping.
This article from the Association of American Medical Colleges describes how the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an already difficult and stressful process of applying to medical residency and amplified the difficulties associated.
(07/14/20) As Residents Get Better at Treating COVID-19, They May Become Worse at Their Own Specialties
An article discussing the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on medical residents working in specialty care. As the pandemic has forced specialists to help treat COVID patients, residents are getting fewer opportunities to work with patients and less experience in their specialty.
(07/01/20) We Need More Doctors
A press release from the Association of American Medical Colleges calling for an increase in enrollment of 30% of 2002 levels to be sustained in the future to maintain an adequate supply of physicians. The Association fears that the coronavirus pandemic has threatened enrollment and may put the supply at risk in the coming years.
(07/01/20) Among Those Disrupted by COVID-19: the Nation’s Newest Doctors
An article discussing the ways in which medical residencies for new physicians have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. From mandatory quarantines delaying start dates to virtual visits for housing to reductions in team sizes within hospitals, significant changes to residency are occurring for this year’s newest group of residents.
(06/26/20) US Doctor Shortage Worsens as Efforts to Recruit Black and Latino Students Stall
An article covering the issues experienced maintaining a medical education pipeline that better reflects the United States population as a whole. As nearly two in five current doctors are entering retirement age, the COVID-19 pandemic has made recruiting a more representative sample for medical education significantly more difficult.
(06/22/20) Medical Education Gets Creative During the Pandemic
An article discussing what the medical program at Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine did to adapt to the new changes in education in response to COVID-19. Medical schools across the nation have adapted to new methodologies such as these to help their students continue on their paths to becoming health care providers.
(06/21/20) 2 Ways How Coronavirus Has Severely Impacted Medical Education
This article covers two major impacts COVID-19 has had on medical education, those being loss of traditional clinical immersion opportunities and added administrative complexities to licensing exams.
(06/16/20) DACA Physicians Serve on COVID-19 Front Lines While Awaiting Court Ruling
An article highlighting the situation many medical residents participating in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program are finding themselves in, as they work to treat COVID-19 patients while the supreme court debates their right to remain in the United States.
(06/15/20) How Will the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Medical Education?
An article covering some of the ways in which COVID-19 has interrupted medical education, and some of the ways in which it will likely continue to deliver issues with the medical education pipeline. Faculty at medical schools are on the front lines treating patients with COVID-19, as well as having their salaries cut in the face of the upcoming school year.
(06/11/20) What to Do if Your Medical School Is Online This Fall Due to Coronavirus
As COVID-19 disrupts traditional formats for education, medical schools across the United States are making decisions on how to continue their essential role of training the health care providers of the future. This article highlights these issues as students and universities are grappling with deferments, online education, and some return to in-person lecturing.
(06/08/20) GW Medical Students Resume Clinical Rotations
As George Washington University’s medical facilities transition to full operation again, the School of Medicine and Health Sciences has announced a resumption of clinical rotations and in-person academic operations for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic placed emergency plans into effect.
(06/01/20) Graduating Medical School Early to Help During the Pandemic Wasn’t Anything Like Going to War
A commentary from Gabriel Redel-Traub, one of the many medical students from NYU Grossman School of Medicine who chose to graduate early in order to join the workforce and address COVID-19.
(05/27/20) Residency Match 2021: How COVID-19 Is Forcing Major Adjustments
An article from the American Medical Association covering the changes being made to residency match programs across the country for 2021 in response to COVID-19. As COVID-19 has limited the ability for medical students to gain clinical experience, supplemental protocols are being developed to maintain the education of physicians.
(05/21/20) Pulled From Clinical Work, Medical Students Mobilize Huge Volunteer Effort
An article highlighting some of the ways in which medical students at University of Virginia have managed to contribute to patient management without directly working in the hospital settings. These activities include hosting community hotlines to triage COVID-19 symptoms and engaging with elderly patients in isolation, among others
(05/18/20) Doctors in Training Learn Hard Lessons During the Pandemic
An article discussing the impact of COVID-19 on the 130,000 medical residents in the health care workforce. The pandemic has increased their hours and added emotional stressors, bringing into question how this will impact post-COVID-19.
(05/08/20) They Had Plans To Go To Nursing School. Maryland Officials Hope Coronavirus Hasn’t Changed Their Minds.
An article discussing fears of an even greater shortage of nurses following the COVID-19 pandemic. Barriers to entry such as cost and the risk to nurses and their families are listed as potential issues further driving a shortage.
(04/27/20) The University Of Maryland School Of Nursing Offers Early-Exit Option To Students To Bolster Nursing Workforce During Pandemic
The University of Maryland School of Nursing has announced an early exit option for select students in the entry-into-practice Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) master’s program, for those expected to graduate in May 2020, in an effort to meet Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s public health surge plan for COVID-19.
(04/10/20) 8 Medical Schools Allowing Early Graduation To Boost COVID-19 Workforce
A publication listing eight medical schools that are allowing students to graduate early to join the healthcare workforce amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
(04/09/20) How To Think About COVID-19 Like an M.D.
An article that shows how Harvard medical students are creating a free curriculum to give their peers and other physicians-eye view of the pandemic.
(04/09/20) Pharmacy Students To Graduate Early In Preparation For Future COVID-19 Impact
An article about how Purdue University’s College of Pharmacy is granting early graduation to 144 students to help deal with the shortage of pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(04/09/20) Ohio’s School Of Nursing To Allow Seniors To Graduate Early, Join Workforce In Fight Against COVID-19
An article about Ohio School of Nursing allowing early graduation for students to join the workforce to fight the pandemic.
(04/09/20) U.S. Resumes Visa Processing So IMGs Can Join COVID-19 Fight
An article about how the U.S. Department has agreed to an AMA request to resume processing visa applications at U.S. embassies and consulates to ensure that non-US citizen international medical graduates (IMGs) can enter the country and begin their residency training programs this summer to help join the fight against COVID-19.
(04/08/20) MSU Makes Available Graduating Health Care Students To Aid In COVID-19 Response
An article about how Michigan State University is making available hundreds of healthcare students, who successfully completed their program requirements, to Michigan healthcare systems to aid in the COVID-19 response.
(04/01/20) Medical Student Education In the Time of COVID-19
This article discusses how COVID-19 affects the medical preclerkship and clerkship learning environments. It also speculates about how the future of medical education may be influenced by the pandemic.
(04/01/20) AAMC Interim Guidance On Medical Students’ Participation In Direct Patient Contact Activities
This document offers guidance from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) on how medical programs should approach student participation during the COVID-19 crisis. This includes involvement with both patients who have COVID-19 and those who do not.
(03/31/20) COVID-19: Temporary Licenses Possible For Illinois Nursing Students
An article about the call for more temporary licenses for Illinois nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(03/31/20) ‘The Future Is Today’: Medical Students In The COVID-19 Pandemic
A blog that examines how medical students can provide needed help in the COVID-19 pandemic.
(03/30/20) COVID-19 Response and Resources
A list of health professional education organizations and agencies and their COVID-19 responses and resources compiled by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education.
