For soon-to-be-completed medical students, Match Day is a historic event that makes a great revelation. With a record number of applicants this year, thousands of aspiring doctors across the country will tear up envelopes containing the name of the medical center where they go on their residency training.
“This year’s class is really unique,” he said Erin McKean, MD, MBA, FACS, Assistant Dean for Student Services at the University of Michigan Medical School. “I like to describe them as a big impact class. They were pulled out of their clerkships because of the pandemic, and they really had to adapt and stay resilient when adapting to the changes in their medical education due to COVID-19.
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McKean adds that many of their residency application interviews have been virtually virtualized and have integrated ‘preference signaling’ programs into their residency application process for the very first time.
“Preference signaling allows applicants to designate preferred programs, but again, this is still a fairly new thing that our students have had to face. to learn and adapt, “she said. In short, this class has adapted more to the changes in the legs than any other class before them.
To commemorate the big day, two graduate students reflect on their four years at UM Medical School and share their experiences through the pandemic and what made their travels so unique. They also offer advice to other young people seeking medicine and looking to the future.
Erica Jaiyeola Odukoya, graduate medical student at UM Medical School
I took a year off from medical school and I was part of last year’s graduating class. When the pandemic hit, I was really impressed to see that we all came together as medical students to serve the greater good
The M-Response Corps was created to help students serve the community and includes various philanthropic channels, such as collecting and sorting PPE items, providing child care services to faculty, staff and students in need, and grocery for seniors. In retrospect, it was clear that we as future doctors were really trying to discern how we were best part of the medical community, and also contributed to something much broader. Because when the pandemic hit, we clearly saw how it affected everyone.
When I think about my journey up to this point, it is important to recognize that I am a non-traditional student. I took a few years off before I started medical school and I was not a major in science; my master’s degree is actually in public health. I always had a passion for engaging in a certain capacity in healthcare, and sometimes I really wondered how I would communicate my interests with a future career.
Before I landed in medical school, I knew that much of my passion revolved around researching inequalities and specific health inequalities, both broadly and in the smallest sense, within communities. As someone who has studied public health, I would often observe trends and patterns about how different diseases were prevalent in certain communities but lacking in others.
I have also studied behavioral manifestations of stress, including substance abuse, and they are involved with health communication and education. From these experiences, I realized that there was a lot that I loved in this space, and that I wanted to pursue something that allowed me to help people right away. They were my passion.
One of my mentors at UM, R. Alexander Blackwood, MD, Ph.D., finally asked me at one point what I wanted to pursue. I told him I was thinking of medicine because I realized how much I wanted to translate this population level data and other crucial insights to individuals in need. I wanted to be their liaison and help them as much as I could. He assured me that what I was describing was really the role of a doctor. And then I knew I was on the right track.
If you have a non-traditional background, do not always imagine becoming a doctor. But it is important to remember that there is no archetype of an individual who will make a good doctor. There are many kinds of people in this world, and many kinds of people in the field of medicine. And they all possess their own characters for themselves that make them good at what they do.
So it is important to remember that doctors have different interests, goals and backgrounds, just like everyone else. Without this element of everything, our patients would not be fair. Because ultimately we serve them, above all.
I’m glad I did not stand out because I did not fit into the traditional mold that medicine does. And I hope others do not count either.
Eric Wilson, graduate medical student at UM Medical School
I can vividly remember when the pandemic first began. I was with my fiancé, Clare Anderson, who is also a fourth year medical student. We celebrated our first anniversary in the middle of our clerkship, so we did not have much personal time. We sat at our house for dinner and asked, “What happens now?” And while we were at the core of our clinical education when COVID-19 came into being, we still knew this was something about us.
Just like Erica said, it was really amazing to see how we as medical students really worked together to help others. Clare and I spent a lot of time volunteering for the Michigan Medicine Triage Line, where we helped field trials in connection with the pandemic. Everyone seems to find their own special ways to help, and in retrospect I think this is the best thing you can do in times of uncertainty: help others.
When it came to the educational side of things, it was really challenging to get back to a changed schedule. But we all took time and learned how to adapt to our new norm.
As I think about my path towards medical school, I also seek a little soul. I served as a teaching assistant and did a good amount of basic science research during my undergraduate years, but I kept crying and crying about what I would eventually do with my life. I did not grow up with doctors in my family, so my concept of what it was like to be a doctor was formed only later.
During my split year, I spent most of my time in free community clinics, doing research, and interacting with patients. And later, I spent two years doing research at the NIH. I like living in DC and thought of pursuing a dual degree at some point. But as time went on, I realized that my time in the free clinics, and while teaching others, really included my passions for people and education. And I knew that medicine would allow me to mix these two things.
As a medical student, I realized how much I wanted to continue with service and advocacy. That’s why I jumped on the student council. I had never anticipated being as involved in various initiatives as I was, but it was a truly rewarding experience.
When I think of counseling others who follow this path, it’s hard because I find out for myself. But I think that’s part of the process. The caveat is that I try to be better at advising myself. One thing Erika and I have in common is that we were both looking for our purpose in pursuing medicine. It’s easy to get tunnel vision when you go through the motions. But if you stay focused on the true purpose of everything, caring for people, you will stay motivated to keep going
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