Learning in the Pandemic: Medical Students' Perceived Effects of COVID-19 on Their Clinical Experiences and Career Choices During the Internal Medicine Clerkship

Alla Fayngersh; Alexander Sudyn; Nishma Jain; Rijul Asri; Christin Traba; Daniel Matassa; Kristin Wong

doi:10.1007/s40670-022-01589-8

Learning in the Pandemic: Medical Students' Perceived Effects of COVID-19 on Their Clinical Experiences and Career Choices During the Internal Medicine Clerkship

Med Sci Educ. 2022 Jul 12;32(4):907-915. doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01589-8. eCollection 2022 Aug.

Authors

Alla Fayngersh¹, Alexander Sudyn², Nishma Jain^{1

3}, Rijul Asri⁴, Christin Traba³, Daniel Matassa¹, Kristin Wong^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 150 Bergen St., UH I-248, Newark, NJ 07103 USA.
² Department of Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College Physicians and Surgeons, 630 West 168th Street, New York, USA.
³ Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103 USA.
⁴ Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ 07103 USA.

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic forced changes to undergraduate medical education with its impact still not fully understood. This is the first US study to assess the pandemic's perceived impact on medical education after return to in-person clerkships.

Materials and methods: We conducted a survey of third-year medical students completing their medicine clerkship during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years (AY). Survey questions assessed students' attitudes on perceived risk of COVID-19 infection, impact on clinical encounters, and students' specialty interests.

Results: Of 312 students enrolled, 283 (90.71%) completed the survey. Concern for COVID-19 infection was highest in the second rotation (3.98 [95% CI 3.64, 4.31]) of the 2020-2021 AY and the third rotation of the 2021-2022 AY (3.41 [95% CI 3.06, 3.76]), corresponding to the surges of COVID-19 cases and subsequent variants. Conversely, as incidence increased, students reported a greater perceived impact on histories, physicals, and time spent with patients with no differences in patient rapport or specialty interests.

Discussion: Although concern for infection was initially high, it decreased after the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine despite increasing incidence nationally and then peaked again during the Omicron surge. The degree of concern did not exceed initial levels, despite unprecedentedly high disease prevalence. Higher infection rates correlated with greater perceived impact on clinical experiences. Our study underscores the importance of vaccination, highlights learners' concerns and resilience throughout the pandemic, and should be considered in balancing student exposure with maintaining clinical opportunities.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01589-8.

Keywords: COVID-19; Career Choices; Clinical Experiences; Medical Students; Medicine Clerkship.