According to the CEO and founder of Residents Medical, Dr. Michael Everest, students graduating from medical schools this year face a very different path because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their learning curve will be steep. They will have to rush into hospital wards before they receive all the necessary training. Most of them have already been called to volunteer in hospitals before they have completed their studies. Although their path will be difficult, Dr. Everest believes that they will emerge from it as better healers, for the benefit of society.
Early Graduations
Many fourth-year medical students have been forced to graduate early to join the fight against the coronavirus. Some states have given special licenses to fourth-year students.
Boston University and Tufts University, universities in Massachusetts, graduated their medical students early. The State of Massachusetts will give 90-day medical licenses to fresh graduates.
Columbia University’s fourth-year medical students graduated a month earlier than expected. They were offered temporary employment by the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Rutgers University also expedited its graduation for medical students.
New Graduates Will Discover Soft Skills
For a long time, medical education has focused on technical skills. Covid-19 will not only change medicine but it will also change medical education. As medical residents work at the bedsides of coronavirus patients, they will discover soft skills that have long been ignored, one of which is empathy.
Medical school usually rewards those who master technical skills and not those with sharpened soft skills such as the ability to talk to a frightened patient and give them a glimmer of hope. This is bound to change.
This massive pandemic has made it clear that no matter how great a doctor’s technical skills are, they might not be considered a healer until they learn how to comfort, inspire, and soothe patients and their family members.
A physician shouldn’t only deliver treatment but they should also deliver hope. Because of the pandemic situations that they will face, fresh graduates who have entered residency this year will quickly learn soft skills that took their old peers a lot of time to learn.
Student Doctors Continue Studying During the Pandemic
Many universities and colleges have closed their campuses because of Covid-19 with classes moving online. This has greatly impacted students in their first two years of study because; in the initial years, in-classroom lectures, lab sessions, and group discussions play an important role in the student’s development.
The transition to online learning can seem awkward to a first-year or second-year student. However, most third years and fourth years can easily handle the transition because the final two years of medical school normally involve watching procedures, assisting doctors, and clinical rotations.
For final year students, they will now have to watch surgeries over zoom instead of observing them in person. Watching surgeries online will impact a student’s perception and understanding of surgery for the rest of their career.
How Residents Medical Group Will Help
Beginning residency during a dangerous and fast-spreading outbreak is not the easiest thing. Residents Medical Group will help in shaping the mindsets of medical graduates so that they can better adjust to the pandemic situation and make the best out of it during their residency.
The team at Residents Medical will empower graduates with soft skills that are hardly taught in medical schools such as empathy, sound judgment, mental stamina, and emotional skills. All these skills are important if someone wants to become a successful doctor.
For those who find it hard to get medical residency because of the current situation, Residents Medical will provide the tools and empowerment required to get that dream residency.
