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COVID-19
WHERE TO FROM HERE

Medical Education:

Meta Reflection in the Midst of a Pandemic

By Samantha Bailey, OMS1 and John Seidenfeld, MD

Over 100,000 countrypersons and over two million people world- groups, case reviews, Socratic discussions of basic medical sciences,
wide are likely to have died due to the ongoing pandemic. Clinicians cadaver labs, learning interview techniques and other tools of the
and scientists are working as hard as they can to prevent death and physician’s trade, quite suddenly they came to a hard stop. From liv-
reduce suffering. Some governments have tried and failed to protect ing alone or with partners in small apartments, some had to establish
the populace while others have succeeded, and only history will be new routines and went back to live with parents or partners in dif-
able to interpret propriety of actions taken and timing. We have of- ferent cities. Instead of having classes together, they were faced with
fered prayers of healing and prayers of mourning for the souls of the task of learning the last few months of their curriculum via the
the dead. We have felt pain and sadness, hope and aspiration, anger virtual classroom isolated from their peers and professors.
and frustration, joy and grace, shame and doubt, schadenfreude and Examining themes expressed in these reflections, we found that
malice, and happiness and faith over the past months. most learners commented on the effects of the pan-
The first-year class of osteopathic medical demic on their personal lives, including feelings
learners from San Antonio were asked to of isolation, but also thankfulness to be
reflect on their experience and able to spend more time with family.
thoughts living through the Being away from campus was a new
COVID-19 pandemic as their first learning experience for many with
year of medical education came lack of learner and facilitator
to an end. Over fifty of their collaboration, an aspect of
reflections were reviewed in medical school many had
preparation of this meta-re- looked forward to throughout
flection which will share no their day. There was fear of
personally identifiable infor- the unknown in these young
mation. These learners are full learners for what not only
of hope, as they aspire to join their future would look like
colleagues in earning the trust personally and professionally,
of those cared for, help to pre- but the future of their families
serve and improve the life of the and neighbors. Some were con-
public they will serve, and contribute cerned as caregivers or children of
to advances in the science and art of elderly parents that they would be help-
medicine. They persevere as learners in a less and have no control over losses or
profession that values educational growth, tire- deaths. Slipping silently and alone into depres-
lessly works for the needs of the ill, and rises to health sion, some were able to reach out for help, but others
challenges brought about by wars, epidemics, pandemics, lifestyles, found resilience in hope and faith.
genetics, and endemic disease. These young students are on a path Many learners mentioned the role of telemedicine in the past few
as laypeople who will become doctors and healers, peaking through months, alluding to the large strides medicine has made in reaching
the gap between the curtains. How have they felt and what have they patients outside the face-to-face medical setting but also the necessity
witnessed these last four months as their country and world have at times for in-person contact between a doctor and their patients in
faced the pandemic of COVID-19? establishing trust and aiding in diagnosis. An overarching theme
Common themes emerge from members of the class of 2023, of throughout all the essays was the importance of unity and the ne-
whom many could never have imagined their first year of medical cessity to work together in this unknown time.
school would end during a global pandemic. Accustomed to study This abrupt change in routine has resulted in reflection, hardships,

22 San Antonio Medicine • July 2020