On March 20th, the USC Keck School of Medicine celebrated its first virtual Match Day for the class of 2020. Just days later, the NYU Grossman School of Medicine announced its intent to graduate fourth year medical students early to train at New York City hospitals in response to the surge of COVID-19 cases.
After graduating medical school, students are trained as interns under seasoned physicians. The hope is that more physicians will enter the health system weeks earlier than they initially would have in order to meet the rising clinical demand.
Other medical institutions in Massachusetts and New York, two states with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, announced similar movements to graduate fourth year medical students so they can begin work immediately to aid the healthcare system in facing this unprecedented medical crisis.
California has the third highest number of reported cases in the United States, nearly half of which come from Los Angeles county alone. One month ago, there were fewer than 50.
In response, medical schools under the University of California system have taken the step to allow eligible fourth-years to enter their residency program sooner on an as-needed basis. Meanwhile, the Keck School of Medicine has been converting its curricula to online lectures, case discussions, and small group activities.
“The school currently has no plans to graduate students early,” said Dr. Donna Elliott, the vice dean for medical education. “However, this is a dynamic process and the conversations are ongoing.” The situation is changing daily at Keck, with town meetings being held every week and constant updates being communicated to medical students.
“I know we will learn a lot from what is happening in New York and make decisions based on that knowledge and what's in the student's best interest,” said Ketetha Olengue, a fourth year medical student at Keck. “I was scared because I was going into the Emergency Department for clinic work, and my anxiety was growing over my safety.”
As a safety precaution, Keck made the decision to pull students from clinical rotations. However, that didn’t stop students from joining the fight against COVID-19. As lectures transition to an online platform, so do clinical rotations.
“All healthcare providers with Keck Medicine’s hospitals and clinics throughout Southern California are now credentialed to practice telemedicine,” said Krishan Patel, one of the 2020 class presidents of Keck. This means that medical students can expand health services across different departments and conduct rounds virtually.
With the use of videoconferencing technology, Telemedicine eliminates the risk of spreading COVID-19 to patients while still allowing healthcare workers to conduct visits and consultations.
“As someone with a tech background, I jumped on the opportunity to help because it means I can use what I love, technology, to help patients still receive quality medical care from the safety of their homes,” Olengue said.
As the situation in California continues to evolve, Keck is gathering more information on the logistics of graduating students early.
“The situation in Los Angeles is very different from the situation in New York at this moment, but the school is still preparing us for when we eventually do return to the hospitals,” said Patel.