Health profession students’ outlooks on the medical profession during the COVID-19 pandemic: a global perspective

ABSTRACT

Background

This article summarizes a global study of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior health professions students’ outlook on medicine. The pandemic has significantly affected health professions education. There is limited understanding of how students’ pandemic experiences will affect them, and what impact these events may have on their career paths or the future of the professions. This information is important as it impacts the future of medicine.

Methods

In the Fall 2020 semester, 219 health professions students at 14 medical universities worldwide responded to the question: ‘Has this experience (with COVID-19) changed your outlook on medicine as a profession?’. Short essay responses were semantically coded and organized into themes and subthemes using an inductive approach to thematic analysis.

Results

145 responses were submitted. Themes were identified: (1) students reflected on the interaction between politics and healthcare; (2) reported becoming more aware of the societal expectations placed on healthcare professionals, including undertaking high risks and the sacrifices that healthcare professionals must make; (3) found reassurance from the recognized importance of healthcare professionals and expressed pride to be entering the profession; and (4) reflected on the current state of healthcare, including its limitations and future.

Conclusion

Most students, independent of the extent of the pandemic in their respective countries, noted a change in their outlook regarding medicine. An overall positive outlook was noted in most junior students. Educators need to work on nurturing these sentiments and attitudes to help young students maintain a healthy relationship towards their chosen profession.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• medical profession
• healthcare profession
• students’ perceptions
• observation

Disclosure statement

The authors claim no disclosures. The manuscript has been read and approved by all authors. Requirements for authorship have been met. The presented information is not provided in another form.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Michael Fortgang for helpful review of the manuscript. Many thanks to the student participants of the ‘International Collaboration and Exchange Program – Preparing Global Leaders for Healthcare’.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel Utomo

Rachel Utomo is a dental student in the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia University, New York, NY.

Sean C. McWatt

Sean C. McWatt, Ph.D., is currently an assistant professor in the Anatomy and Cell Biology Department, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He is also an affiliate member of the Institute of Health Sciences Education, in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, at McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Austin Talis

Austin Talis is a dental student in the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia University, New York, NY.

Que Yun Xiao

Que Yun Xiao, D.D.S., was a dental student in the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia University, New York, NY. She is a dental resident in New York, NY.

Kerstin Saraci

Kerstin Saraci is a medical student at the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.

Jens Waschke

Jens Waschke, M.D. Ph.D., is a professor and chairman of the Department of Vegetative Anatomy at the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.

Anna Madgalena Sigmund

Anna Madgalena Sigmund, Ph.D., is a lecturer and group leader in the Department of Vegetative Anatomy at the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.

Mandeep Gill Sagoo

Mandeep Gill Sagoo, Ed.D., is a senior lecturer in Anatomy in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine and the head of MBBS year 1 Assessments at King’s College London.

Richard Wingate

Richard Wingate, Ph.D., is the director of the Centre for Education in the Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine at King's College London, professor of Developmental Neurobiology, and a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Cecilia Brassett

Cecilia Brassett, M.B. BChir MChir, is the Teaching Professor of Human Anatomy at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Chung-Liang Chien

Chung-Liang Chien, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Hannes Traxler

Hannes Traxler, M.D. Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Takeshi Sakurai

Takeshi Sakurai, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor in the Medical Innovation Center at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, and is a specially assigned professor in the Department of Nursing at Ichinomiya Kenshin College, Ichinomiya, Aichi, Japan. He is also a member of the anatomy teaching faculty at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Mina Zeroual

Mina Zeroual, M.D. M.Ed., is an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and course director of Physician Apprenticeship (Campus Outaouais), in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, at McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.

Jorgen Olsen

Jorgen Olsen, M.D. M.Sci., is a professor in medical gross anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Salma El-Batti

Salma El-Batti, M.D., is a professor of surgery at the University of Paris, Paris, France. She is the director of the anatomy course and teaches human anatomy.

Suvi Viranta-Kovanen

Suvi Viranta-Kovanen, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in anatomy in the Department of Anatomy, at the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Yukari Yamada

Yukari Yamada, Ph.D., is a junior associate professor at the Center for Medical Education and Internationalization of Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. She also works for the Fukuma research group, at the Human Health Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.

Kevin A. Keay

Kevin Keay, Ph.D., is an associate professor and director of Neuroscience at the School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Shuji Kitahara

Shuji Kitahara, D.D.S. Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Faculty of Advanced Techno-Surgery at Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. He is also the deputy director of the International Office in the School of Medicine at the Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Tokyo, Japan.

William Stewart

William Stewart, Ph.D., is an associate professor of surgery (gross anatomy) and section chief at the Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.

Yinghui Mao

Yinghui Mao, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He is the assistant dean for Graduate Affairs at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

Ariella Lang

Ariella Lang, Ph.D., is the associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships at Columbia College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

Carol Kunzel

Carol Kunzel, Ph.D., is a professor of dental community health (in dental medicine) and professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Columbia College of Dental Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Paulette Bernd

Paulette Bernd, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology and director of the Clinical Gross Anatomy course at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.

Snehal Patel

Snehal Patel, M.D. J.D., is a physician and attorney based in Singapore. He is currently the Managing Director of Saena Partners, an investment company, and has co-founded several healthcare startups in the region.

Leo Buehler

Leo Buehler, M.D., is a surgeon at the University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.

Heike Kielstein

Heike Kielstein, M.D. Ph.D., is the dean of the medical faculty at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany, and a professor and director of the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.

Alexander Preker

Alexander Preker, M.D. Ph.D., is an Executive Scholar and Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai Hospital in New York.

Mark A. Hardy

Mark A. Hardy, M.D. Ph.D. (Hon) F.A.C.S., is Auchincloss Professor of Surgery, Founder and Director Emeritus of the Transplantation and of the Global Surgery Programs, Vice Chair for Education and Residency Program Director Emeritus. He is a member of the teaching faculty in the Surgery department.

Geoffroy P.J.C. Noël

Geoffroy P.J.C. Noël, Ph.D., is an associate professor and chief of the Division of Anatomy in the Department of Surgery, at the University of California, San Diego, as well as an adjunct professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and a member of the Institute for Health Science Education at McGill University.

Anette Wu

Anette Wu, M.D. M.P.H. Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, New York, USA.