Following is a message from Koyal Jain, MD MPH and Ashley Henderson, MD, directors of undergraduate education in the department of medicine.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in medical education and administration of the USMLE step examinations throughout the country. The UNC School of Medicine and Department of Medicine have been working closely with the medical students and offered them novel electives including a medical management of COVID-19 elective with Sarah Smithson, MD MPH.
As UNC medical students transition to clinical rotations, the School of Medicine has established a strict protocol for re-entry that includes reviewing mask and PPE guidelines, donning and doffing videos, COVID-19 testing criteria, self-monitoring, and travel policies. Individualization phase students including AIs return to clinical rotations on May 26, and application phase medical students will return on June 29. The Department of Medicine is working on innovative ways to incorporate medical students in clinical environments ensuring outstanding education while minimizing risk. Medical students will care for patients on non-covid services and will start with abbreviated rotations for timely graduation. The School of Medicine has reduced the number of required courses for fourth year medical students to allow increased flexibility in reaching graduation requirements. The medical students are excited to get back into the clinical setting and the Department of Medicine is thrilled to have them join us.
Many thanks to the following for working on this initiative: Lee Berkowitz, Alyssa Tilly, Christopher Klipstein, Lindsay Wilson, Deb Bynum and the Internal Medicine Residency Chiefs Katie Gill, Sydney Greenberg, Carlos Rubiano, Josh Hudson, and Erin Finn.
Jain and Henderson were appointed directors of undergraduate education for the department of medicine last year. Learn more.