Idaho medical students deal with educational and career storm caused by coronavirus
Lauren Nesbit, an Idahoan and fourth-year medical student at the University of Washington, had been eagerly anticipating Match Day — that special day when doctors-to-be find out where they have been placed for residencies.
“Typically, schools have a big party and they hand you an envelope, and right at 10 o’clock you open up your envelope and see where you get to go for the next several years,” Nesbit said.
But this year, Match Day didn’t happen. Instead, medical students have been left to grapple with the uncertain, coronavirus-ridden world they are entering, at a time when health care professionals are both urgently needed and at great risk — and when schooling and education have become a challenge.
This has hit the Idaho students who are a part of the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) program very hard, partly because of the program’s focus on getting doctors into rural areas. Each WWAMI cohort includes 40 students from all over Idaho.
“We are in a unique situation in being a five-state medical school and having to adjust our program. ... (We) have to ensure that our rural partners are being maintained and have coverage for what they need,” said Sarah Jane Keshian, WWAMI program operations administrator for Idaho.
Canceled classes, clerkships and opportunities
For students going through medical school, their third and fourth years are vital for exams and in-person education. Many apply for and get clerkships, which give students hands-on training at a clinic or in a hospital, working directly with physicians and patients.
“I was in Seattle doing rotations at a pediatric hospital,” said fourth-year student Amanda Aman, who lives in Meridian. “While I was there, Seattle got its first confirmed case and they started decreasing the people who could come into the hospital.”
Two weeks into her monthlong clerkship, Aman got the notice from the University of Washington that all clerkships were being suspended.
“It was a shock to hear the news,” she said.
Aman decided to return to Meridian and complete her rotation through an online format the university was able to put together.
“My favorite part about medical school is working with the patient and being with patient families. I learn better that way. It’s been challenging (not having that),” Aman said. “The University of Washington put together an entire two weeks of courses in a matter of days, which isn’t exactly what I wanted, but it continues my training, which I am thankful for.”
The day after the WWAMI clerkships were suspended, the Association of American Medical Colleges canceled all such opportunities nationwide.
Dr. Mary Barinaga, assistant dean of Idaho WWAMI, said the biggest questions now are when students will be able to return to their clinical training and when their United States Medical Licensing Examinations will be rescheduled.
Nicholas Thomson, a third-year med student, recently returned to Boise after his general surgery clerkship in Seattle was canceled. He said that third-year students all have to take a two-part licensing exam. All testing centers that conduct the first part are closed, and all offerings of the second part have been suspended through May.
“This puts students in a tough position as exams need to be completed by winter in order to be ready to interview for residency positions,” said Thomson. “Our fourth-year schedule has shifted, and I am just here in Boise waiting to redo the schedule and figure out what’s going to be next.”
Online courses are a challenge as well.
“Some courses you can’t really do online, like advanced life support courses. You can’t really practice doing CPR online, it doesn’t translate the same way,” Nesbit said. “There’s just a couple of procedures, skill-type things, that I’ll just have to learn when I’m in residency in a different manner than doing it in medical school.”
Barinaga said there simply is no substitute for learning in a clinical setting. She said the school hopes to have students back in clinical training by July.
A drive to help during the pandemic
“More of our students are wanting to fill the need and serve our rural communities as much as possible and wanting to continue their educaton,” Keshian said. “We have so many students that are rural-based from their hometowns so there is a different impact for them in that way.”
The Idaho WWAMI medical students have collected 170 N95 masks, 90 surgical masks and more than 2,000 gloves for Palouse health care workers through their PPE supply drive. The drive is concluding on Friday, April 24, and has been open to anyone in the Pullman and Moscow area with items to donate.
“I know that hopefully over the next couple of weeks that some of the kids here in Idaho and Boise, specifically, I know there’s a group of us that are anxious to be helping,” Thomson said. “I know that it’s hard for us to be out of the hospital because we feel kind of useless.”
The desire to help also extends into their educational and professional goals.
“This isn’t going away anytime soon. From my perspective, as someone who’s finishing school and going into residency, it is important for me to learn the latest treatment guidelines and what the latest protocols are,” said Nesbit.
Those who are still in school have been looking for ways to expand their education while also helping other future doctors.
“There’s a group of third- and fourth-year students that have taken over, and we do a Zoom meeting with a group of second-year students,” said Thomson. “We basically go through cases and we were helping them with their foundation skills at a time where they’re not allowed to be in the hospital setting or even in the classroom setting.”
Those who are graduating in June, including Aman and Nesbit, will be arriving on the medical scene at a precarious time. Both will be part of Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, with Aman working in Boise and Nesbit in the Twin Falls and Jerome areas.
“I feel like I should be doing more but I am not,” Aman said. “I am just doing online courses.”
Aman said as disappointing as it has been to be out of hospital settings, she knows the school made the right decisions.
“Things were very scary in Seattle for a little while, and I am proud that people are taking it seriously,” Aman said.
According to Keshian, the WWAMI administrator for Idaho, students have been able to help work on local hotlines to provide information on COVID-19.
“I’ve been so impressed by our students’ eagerness to help during the pandemic,” Barinaga said. “They are volunteering their time, holding PPE drives, and feel called to practice medicine because of current events.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 12:39 PM.
