To Stay at Port or to Go to Sea: Are Clinical Clerkships a Double-Edged Sword During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Where Do We Go From Here?

Abstract

The ongoing pandemic has changed the way medicine is taught and learned. The unexpected challenges of the spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide have forced our educators to rethink in a rather narrow window of time the organization of medical education all around the globe. In many countries, clinical clerkships have been cancelled and medical students' access to university hospitals has been restricted. Lectures have been replaced by online courses and, in many instances, case presentations have replaced classical rotations in the hospital. Although it is not difficult to understand why these measures were put into practice, one is still left wondering: are clinical clerkships dispensable in the training of a future physician? Also, to what extent has the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected the work of residents and young researchers? In the current and previous issue of the International Journal of Medical Students, many of these topics are tackled in the Experience articles that we decided to publish with perspectives from countries including Italy, 1

Students’ perception of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Learning from real patients in a clinical setting is crucial for medical education and it cannot be fully replaced with distance learning. [ 19 ] To some extent, a solution to this issue could be the use of virtual patients (VPs). VPs are designed to simulate real-life clinical scenarios and they enable the learner to prepare him/herself before a real patient encounter.…”

Back to the Future: Medicine Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Although COVID-19 has taken away our opportunities for clinical clerkships and in-person learning, 31 it has given us an insight into the responsibilities that we will face in as future doctors. In the same way that exposure to stress in previous generations can trigger genetic changes that are passed down to children and grandchildren, 32 the pandemic is a stark reminder that we will one day inherit the responsibilities of caring for the health of society.…”

Is It Worth Publishing in a Medical Students’ Journal? Insights From a 10-Year Journey

“…Working with medical students' research from all over the world is inspiring. 2 Every day we receive research and experiences that connect us as a community and push the Journal towards higher levels of commitment and quality of work. The community of authors that we have seen growing steadily in the last couple of years has its repercussions in both the number of articles and issues we publish.…”