Contributions of Health Professions Students to Health System Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Potential Strategies and Process for U.S. Medical Schools

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge to U.S. health systems, particularly academic health centers (AHCs) that lead in providing advanced clinical care and medical education. No phase of AHC efforts is untouched by the crisis, and medical schools, prioritizing learner welfare, are in the throes of adjusting to suspended clinical activities and virtual classrooms. While health professions students are currently limited in their contributions to direct clinical care, they remain the same smart, innovative, and motivated individuals who chose a career in health care and who are passionate about contributing to the needs of people in troubled times. The groundwork for operationalizing their commitment has already been established through the identification of value-added, participatory roles that support learning and professional development in health systems science (HSS) and clinical skills. This pandemic, with rapidly expanding workforce and patient care needs, has prompted a new look at how students can contribute. At the Penn State College of Medicine, staff and student leaders formed the COVID-19 Response Team to prioritize and align student work with health system needs. Starting in mid-March 2020, the authors used qualitative methods and content analysis of data collated from several sources to identify 4 categories for student contributions: the community, the health care delivery system, the workforce, and the medical school. The authors describe a nimble coproduction process that brings together all stakeholders to facilitate work. The learning agenda for these roles maps to HSS competencies, an evolving requirement for all students. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to harness the capability of students to improve health. Other AHCs may find this operational framework useful both during the COVID-19 pandemic and as a blueprint for responding to future challenges that disrupt systems of education and health care in the United States.

Exploring the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education: an international cross-sectional study of medical learners

“…Consistent with early reports, medical students felt underutilized and have a strong desire to help out clinically during times of need. [24][25][26][27][28] However, not all learners may share these views. In addition to concerns about physical safety, numerous resident participants in our study believed a primary role of trainees is to be educated and that any deviation from that role is inappropriate.…”

Educational leadership in the time of a pandemic: Lessons from two institutions

“…Although our students were not on the front lines of patient care for the pandemic, they have made considerable contributions in collaboration with our institutional and local community. Early in the course of the pandemic, our students, like that of other institutions, 13 organized and developed a working group to identify potential strategies to help during the COVID pandemic. Under the supervision of faculty, they developed a leadership team and several sub‐teams to work on areas of need.…”

Building a virtual summer research experience in cancer for high school and early undergraduate students: lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Many Academic Health Centers and Cancer Centers were charged with maintaining the traditional tripartite mission of clinical care, research, and education. Within medical education, virtual or distance learning combined with simulation became more common [1,3]. Similarly, graduate medical and research education incorporated virtual didactic and telemedicine training [3][4][5][6][7].…”