UCSF has issued a statement concerning the cancellation and delay of MCAT testing
University of Utah med student hold PPE drive
Joint Statement from the Admissions Deans of California Medical Schools Regarding Academic Work and MCAT Tests that are Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak
The purpose of this message is to address concerns from prospective applicants who are experiencing unprecedented educational upheaval during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants for the upcoming application cycle can count on our common commitment to the following principles:
Pass/Fail Grades – Our schools will accept pass/fail grades, without prejudice, for courses taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has always been our practice to consider grades in the context of numerous other aspects of the application, and an international crisis certainly provides a unique and compelling context. In making this statement, we are cognizant of the fact that some undergraduate schools are providing an option for students to take courses either for grades or on a Pass/Fail basis. We therefore want to be explicit that applicants should not feel pressured by us to choose the graded option. Students and their families are facing many challenges at the moment – maybe even life and death challenges. The pressure for grades need not be one of them.
MCAT Tests – We will accept applications from individuals who were unable to take the MCAT due to COVID-related test cancellations. For these candidates, we will base secondary application decisions on the information that is available to us at the time of the application. Assuming that MCAT testing resumes prior to October, we will require applicants to have taken the MCAT before we make admissions decisions for the Class of 2025. Accordingly, applicants should not delay applying simply because an MCAT score is not yet available.
Raquel Arias, MD John Balmes, MD
Associate Dean of Admissions Director, Joint Medical Program
Keck School of Medicine at USC UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco
Clarence Braddock III, MD, MPH Daphne Calmes, MD
Vice Dean for Education Associate Dean for Medical Education
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Charles R. Drew University of Medicine
Iris C. Gibbs, MD Kama Guluma, MD
Associate Dean of MD Admissions Associate Dean of Admissions
Stanford University School of Medicine and Student Affairs
UC San Diego School of Medicine
Mark Henderson, MD
Associate Dean for Admissions Megan Osborn, MD, MHPE
University of California Davis Associate Dean for Students
University of California Irvine
Sarah Roddy, MD
Associate Dean for Admissions Emma M. Simmons, MD, MPH
Loma Linda University School of Medicine Senior Associate Dean, Student Affairs
University of California Riverside
Lindia Willies-Jacobo, MD
Associate Dean for Admissions David Wofsy, MD
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson Associate Dean for Admissions School of Medicine University of California San Francisco
Thank you!
JAMA editorial
[A Bold Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Medical Students, National Service, and Public Health](A Bold Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Medical Students, National Service, and Public Health | Medical Education and Training | JAMA | JAMA Network)
Medical schools sent all their students home the moment they saw the issue. This is not the response they will ever take.
My kid’s school is in session virtually. For everyone, at least for now.
I think we will see some medical school students taking on some jobs if this continues for months.
At my kid’s school, the kids completing year one have their last summer “off” for many years. I can see them being asked to volunteer for these jobs, since traveling won’t be an option anyway.
Students completing year 2 would normally be starting rotations. If patient contact school based rotations are not happening…I can see how schools might make the above an option instead.
Already, some places are graduating last year students early, and those newly minted doctors are working, as described above.
I’m not sure what you mean by “This is not the response they will ever take”. @texaspg
@thumper1 students are medical school customers in many ways spending 250k+ to get their degrees. So they are protecting them from getting sick. It is easy to wipe out a batch of students by making them sick and sidelining them for an year of education.
The only way they can put them to work is by graduating them and paying them which means they are employees and need to take the same risks as all the other healthcare professionals in exposing them to same risks. This is the choice most are taking in order to minimize their institutional risks.
I read a lot of what essentially amounts to speculation across board about Covid and watched everyday of the whitehouse briefings diligently and still don’t know if I can ever leave my home listening to Fauci while I am ready to step out right now listening to the president. Neither of them actually knows the risks and so they are taking opposite sides of the spectrum. However, based on all the evidence that seems to exist, Dilbert guy, Scott Adams seems to be a better health expert than everyone else. He said back in early February that people will be protected most by face masks and it was BS for the government to be telling them otherwise just to ensure the people dont buy out all of them in market depriving the healthcare professionals from adequate PPE.
There are still huge gaps in people’s understanding of what is effective for treatment, what they can take as a prophylactic to protect themselves, how much of PPE is enough (space suits or garbage bags), when an effective vaccine comes into play and so on before the first years will ever be forced to step into any working environments.
I only foresee zoom classes and online exams until at least December for first year students if some of these questions are not answered quickly. I see two people advising the Government who came from their experience in dealing with HIV which now seems like a breeze. People got it and still lived several months, years whereas someone gets Corona, they might be dead in two weeks. If they survive after major hospitalization, they are expected to have issues rest of their lives due to how much damage is being done to their bodies.
The program outlined in the editorial doesn’t graduate students earlier, It basically suspends medical education and allows the PHS to “draft” med students for a year to work in critical support roles that at the same time minimize the students’ exposure to Covid-19. Contract tracing via telephone interviews, caretakers for elderlies, phone screening for Covid-19 testing.
The PHS is a branch of military service just like the Army, Navy and Air Force are. The PHS has the right to draft medical students in the case of a declared national emergency.–which is what the US is experiencing right now. (There is precedent from past wars for this.) Students would receive a minimal hourly wage (thus making them employees) and would be stationed near their medical school.
While I doubt the proposal put forth above will come to pass, I wouldn’t entirely discount it.
I really hope you’re being facetious here. There is no question what is the appropriate level of protection.
The appropriate level is a full PAPR suit with self contained positive pressure air filtration system if the individual is dealing with a potential Covid patient in a situation that make expose the HCW to the patient’s fluids, such as nasal & throat swabbing, and intubation. For routine care of infectious patients on vents or nebulizers (which apparently aerosolize the virus into the surrounding area) or nasal cannulas, the appropriate PPE are n95 masks and disposable gowns with shoe and hair covers.
Garbage bags fall into the same category as “better than nothing” just like cloth masks when appropriate PPEs are not available and HCW ares still asked to risk their lives caring for the sick.
Why do they need medical students do this. They are no more qualified than any other graduating student.
If the goal is to hire people to do it, they dont need incoming medical students. Anyone can do it.
My younger daughter was doing something similar for a medical school as an unpaid summer intern after one year of college.
MCAT scheduled for middle of May has been cancelled. I would love to know what is going to happen this cycle . . . .
Unfortunately this is an evolving situation and no one know exactly what is going to happen.
Administrators at CA medical schools have issued a joint policy statement (see post #22) w/r/t this application cycle, but AMCAS and other state and private med schools have not.
It appears that most schools are preparing to go ahead and things will proceed as is usual.
I suspect there will many glitches in the system–ranging from issues with students getting transcripts sent to slow processing times at AMCAS, to the unavailability of some types of public transportation.
I do know that most schools are preparing to interview students remotely.
AMCAS is going to be a bigger issue. AMCAS as furloughed 1/3 of its staff. Additionally AMCAS’s data system is hardened to prevent outside tampering. Their application processing system can only be accessed on-site so having staff working from home is not possible. Until stay at home orders are lifted or AMCAS is declared a “critical service,” it’s not clear if AMCAS will even operate this summer.
SAT and ACT tests have also been cancelled. There is a growing list of undergrad schools who will be doing admissions without these standardized tests also.
Wondering if medical schools will do the same.
One fallout I didn’t think of until now was…The College Board. Seems like they are losing a TON of money cancelling all these tests.
Inspirational reading–
[url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/sports/athletes-doctors-coronavirus.html]They Played Sports at the Highest Level. Now Their Job Is to Save Lives.[/url
My daughter’s M4’s were asked the day after Match Day to volunteer at COVID testing centers. Some decided to go home, or were already home since Match day was cancelled. Mine has been at the testing center every day, and became shift manager last weekend. She started coughing Tuesday night, and is now on isolation until test results come back. If she’s negative, she will go back to work at the testing center if she has no symptoms. If she’s positive she will be quarantined (some more). She using her time to pack, go through her stuff for donation, and look for apartments!
Crossing my fingers that your daughter tests negative.
@moonpie add me to those hoping for a negative test.
Here’s hoping @thumper1 !
Medical schools are starting to post their updated admission policies to MSAR.
If your child hasn’t subscribed to MSAR, this would be a good time to do so.
@moonpie - Hope she finds out she is negative soon.
What type of tests are they doing and how soon do they come back if she is already in the testing center? Birx keeps mentioning about the 15 minute Abbott tests being available but not being used.
The most unfortunate part of this pandemic is that the most affected group seems to be health professionals who keep catching it. I have heard numbers as high as 20% at some locations initially since they didnt know who had it while they were treating patients.
Several of the doctors I know isolate themselves from the families after going to work each day.