The Impacts of COVID-19 on Prospective Medical Students
Tags: Medical Student, Covid 19, Course, Impact, Teaching

Hi guys! My name is Sarayu and I am currently in Year 11. I am also an aspiring medic, just like all of you! I am going to be writing about something we have all heard enough of recently but it’s not just the general situation itself, but more of how we, as prospective medical students, have been impacted by coronavirus.

Firstly, work experience. Now, we all know that when applying to medical school, it’s always helpful to have some insight into the roles and responsibilities of being a doctor. I say ‘helpful’ because some medical schools actually don’t require work experience, but why wouldn’t you want work experience, especially for such a sophisticated career like medicine? Another benefit of having some medical work experience is that you can talk about in your personal statement and interviews. We can achieve this by going on work experience placements in clinical environments such as hospitals and GP Practices. Or, other caring environments including care homes, pharmacies, special need schools, and many more. The list is endless! However, that is not currently possible, due to these unprecedented circumstances. Some of you may have already had placements ready, which are unfortunately cancelled. Work experience does make up a large part of your understanding of what being a doctor is like and it is extremely difficult to find alternatives that convey to the proper standard at this time.

Although, there are a few replacements (some of which you may already know about) and that is virtual work experience! I know, it sounds absurd to start with, but trust me it is better than nothing! One of these is the virtual work experience offered by Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS). This is honestly a brilliant way to gain insight into various areas of medicine including: the NHS, General Practice, Mental Health and more, which are concisely delivered in modules. Another is the Observe GP programme created by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) which is an interactive video platform of pre-recorded videos at a GP Surgery. You will be asked questions and see key terminology, which in order to continue, you will need to answer correctly! But remember, just doing work experience is not enough. You need to be able to reflect about it effectively — this is a key skill that all health care professionals are required to undertake on a daily basis!

Another impact of COVID-19, for prospective medical students, is attending University Open Days. Due to government guidelines and safety advice, all universities and medical institutions are closed. This has had an immense impact on students because shortlisting where you want to study and live for the next 5–6 years of your life, is a massive decision! The closure of medical schools means that students will not be able to get a first-hand experience of each university at their respective open days, which makes it challenging for students to choose which institutions to apply to. To overcome this problem, many of the medical schools across the UK have been trying to create virtual open days and tours. Even though this may not be ideal, it is really convenient for what we can get at this time. Especially from the comfort of our own homes! For example, some universities have 360-degree tours of their campus including visits to their clinical facilities and lecture halls! Some universities also have subject-specific Q&A sessions where you can get your burning questions answered by current medical students and admissions tutors!

In addition, the uncertainty of what grades GCSE and A-Level students will receive has caused major confusion for some students. As you all know, GCSE and A-Level exams for the Summer 2020 series have been cancelled. The Department of Education has come up with a new idea on how grades will be awarded, to students who were due to sit their exams, based on their performance in school. This has had a varied reaction from different students although the government has stated that grades will be awarded fairly, just the way they have every other year. Furthermore, resists will be available for students who are not pleased with their results. Grades are the most important for current Year 13 students who may be holding offers for their medical schools and are due to start in September. So, this has caused a considerable amount of interference for those students as well. Likewise, due to the closure of schools, students who are in Year 10 and Year 12 are missing out on their learning in preparation for their GCSEs and A-Levels. Many schools have introduced online lessons for students, to ensure that they can keep up with the content. Although, this does come with its problems as some households may not have the facilities to access online schooling. In practical subjects such as science, core practicals/experiments cannot be carried out (which form a key part of the content).

To conclude, COVID-19 has had a major impact on all of our lives, physically and mentally. But the best we can do is to find alternatives for what we are missing, and these are available! As I mentioned previously, you can try virtual medical work experiences. Also, there are some teachers on YouTube who run live online classes, for various subjects — and they aim these at most year groups! Why not find some opportunities that may bolster your application such as wider reading or doing a few online courses. This is a great time to get cracking on a new book! There are also numerous free webinars with regards to medicine, which are very insightful! Take the webinars hosted by @medicine as an example!

Nevertheless, focussing on your mental health is absolutely crucial at this time. Use this time to relax and enjoy doing the things you love most whether it’s baking, playing video games, writing, painting — ANYTHING! Why not take up a new hobby? Remember, everyone is in the same boat and medical schools do realise the impact that COVID-19 has had on applying students, so you are not alone! Just take this time to unwind and enjoy yourself, that’s what matters more than anything else!