Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have heard from many frontline health care workers — but how has the pandemic impacted those who are the future of our health care system, our medical students?
On Friday, January 15, at 1:00 p.m. EST, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) held a discussion on how the pandemic has affected the medical school experience and students’ views on their future in medicine. Medical students from PHR’s Student Advisory Board discussed changes in both pre-clinical education and clinical training, how the pandemic has altered medical practice, and how the shift from intense, hands-on and in-person education to virtual learning has created new opportunities for students and – perhaps – changed their own view of future practice opportunities.
The conversation was moderated by David Dantzker, MD, treasurer of PHR’s Board of Directors, former president of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, and former chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Panelists:
- Michael Dorritie is a fourth-year student at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York, where he is pursuing emergency medicine for residency. He serves as co-chair of the PHR Student Advisory Board.
- Katrin Jaradeh is a third-year student at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she served as a co-founder and coordinator of the UCSF Human Rights Cooperative. She serves on the PHR Student Advisory Board’s asylum and refugee outreach committee.
- Veena Mehta is a third-year student at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She serves as the PHR Student Advisory Board’s South regional chapter mentor.
- Michelle Munyikwa, PhD is a fourth-year student at the University of Pennsylvania. She is co-chair of the PHR Student Advisory Board and previously served on the board’s advocacy committee. Upon graduation, she plans to pursue residency training in combined internal medicine and pediatrics.