Back

March 23 Bulletin

Edit

Role as a Student during COVID-19

Amidst the evolving and rapid changes to your medical school experience, the student response has been rooted in resilience, compassion, curiosity, altruism and teamwork. We are so proud of the rallying efforts to create and deliver a robust volunteer student labor force and admire the constant desire to do more. We know in these times of need our best side shines and our community becomes our focus and strengthens.

At the same time, the Department of Medical Education is doing all that can be done to maintain a learning environment that maximizes our resources and talents to continue moving your academic journey forward. And as hard as it may be at times, your engagement and adherence to mandatory sessions and assessment is paramount to this two-way partnership that we are living through for the foreseeable future. In doing so, we will come out of this having done our best, respectively.

So when forced to make decisions about class work or volunteer opportunities, remember that you are here for medical school first and there will be plenty of time to devote care to our community as our student body begins transitioning as the spring comes to a wrap, our graduates become interns and our community welcomes our newest class, the Class of 2024. This situation is a marathon.

Infection Prevention Update

Leadership of the Medical School and the Graduate School have been working closely with Mount Sinai Health System Infection Prevention experts and closely following the Department of Health recommendations in order to have up-to-date infection prevention policies for our student body. As you know the COVID19 public health crisis continues to evolve in our region. Community spread in New York City is evident and increasing. Thus all residents of our city should be practicing aggressive social distancing and ‘shelter at home’ protocols.

Given the increasing prevalence in the community and the social distancing procedures in place, we are writing to be transparent as our infection prevention policies for our students evolve. See below for current practices:

• Returning travelers are no longer under strict self-quarantining protocols.

• Mildly symptomatic individuals are self-isolating in their homes including student housing.

• Testing for COVID19 is being done in particular situations recommended by the Department of Health including symptomatic individuals with underlying medical risk factors, moderately ill individuals and hospitalized individuals.

• Individuals with underlying medical risk factors are currently being contacted proactively so we can we work with collaboratively to understand their health needs.

• Individuals who recover symptomatically with or without testing for COVID19 are following policies that address living in student housing including Aron Hall and participating in the student workforce.

It is imperative that we all practice social distancing. With the increased occurrence in our community, there are students with symptoms, with presumptive illness and with confirmed illness. These results are not unexpected and simply highlight the importance of sheltering in place.

MS3: Important Update to Exams

As shared in an email message today, the Office of Curricular Affairs is focused in determining a plan for those of you who haven't completed Module 3. Our preliminary plans will involve some remote learning and engagement.

In addition, given the NBME announcement enabling medical schools to deliver subject exams in dispersed remote locations, we have worked with the Clerkship Directors to identify opportunities to complete the subject exams that could not delivered due to the pause in clerkships. Several dates will be available for your selection: April 16, April 30, May 14 or May 28. Each Clerkship Director will reach out with these details.

Regardless of the situation, the Office of Student Affairs will continue to work with each student to accommodate individual educational plans as needed when students face hardships that impact ability to sit for subject exams as scheduled.

Elective Options

We recognize that you have many questions about completing your elective requirements under the current circumstances. We want to highlight a few updates and some changes to our electives policies during this unprecedented time, and list some suggestions for completing electives weeks. We are continuing to actively pursue alternative clinical learning opportunities for students.

Updates in elective policy:

Suggestions for non-clinical electives:

We also want to thank the students who are contributing enormously, and 3rd and 4th year students can get credit through a special elective they have created:

COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness Response Elective

During this unprecedented time spent battling the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted New York City and the Mount Sinai Health System, students have the opportunity to volunteer in various capacities throughout Mount Sinai hospitals. Experiences may include clinical and non-clinical assistance with pharmacy, telehealth, administration, personal protective equipment fitting, supply chain, among other ancillary tasks. This elective will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. For more information, contact the Student Emergency Preparedness Task Force (of Student Council) at reps.md2021@icahn.mssm.edu and cc Dr. Beverly Forsyth at beverly.forsyth@mssm.edu. This elective will be available for registration in Empower soon.

All updates will be posted on the BlackBoard Elective Page, be sure to check back frequently.

Wellness Wise

During the last few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended many of our lives and required us to distance ourselves from family and friends, all while we brace for the challenge of caring for very ill patients. This may significantly stress our emotional coping mechanisms, and may mean, at times, that we feel a wave of anxiety. You may feel a sudden increase in worry that makes you feel unsettled and uncomfortable. Try the following to cope with the wave of anxiety you may be feeling:

  1. Do not try to avoid or judge this anxious feeling. The more we avoid anxiety, the scarier it becomes. Instead, PAUSE and reflect about what just happened that led to this anxious feeling.

  2. Then, IDENTIFY what you are feeling. Ask, “What made me nervous?”

Some common emotions that can make us anxious are:

Disappointment We have experienced cancelled vacations, family events, and other routine or special occasions. It is common to personalize the loss. However, try to allow yourself to feel the sadness that comes with this loss.
Anticipation anxiety. This is what we feel prior to whatever it is that we fear. For example, someone who is afraid of flying may feel more anxiety leading up to the flight, only to be surprised while on the flight that it’s not as bad as they anticipated.

Change fatigue We thrive in our routines. When excessive change is imposed, it can make us feel uncomfortable. It is important to keep as many of your routines as possible, no matter how small.

CHECK your thinking Ask yourself, “What am I worried will happen?” Check to see if you are thinking in all-or-none terms, such as “everyone,” and “always,” or thinking of the extremes, like the worst-case scenario. See if you can find a more helpful middle ground using facts that you know. Words like “sometimes” and “possibly” are usually more accurate at describing situations.

LEARN from your anxiety Take note of who and/or what you are worrying about. Often, we worry the most about those who are most important to us. Notice that you have them in your life and how much you care about them.

CREATE a phrase that you can repeat to yourself to provide comfort “I am not alone” or “This too shall pass,” are some phrases that others have used.

CONNECT with others When we are being asked to practice social distancing, stay connected with others through other creative ways. We can connect with others in our shared experiences.

REMIND yourself that emotions come and go This wave of anxiety is like a wave in the ocean—it may be stronger than others, but like every other wave, this feeling shall also pass.

Tomorrow’s Upcoming Events

Time: 9:30-11:00 am Morning Intention Setting

Time: 11:00-12:30 pm OPEN LAB meeting

Time: 6:30-8:00pm Spanish Language Study Group

Worth Your Read

The Tip of the Iceberg: Virologist David Ho (BS '74) Speaks About COVID-19

Dr. Atul Gawande: Keeping the Coronavirus from Infecting Health-Care Workers