MP Shahzaib Khan
DCMS member Shahzaib Khan, DO, completed medical school at CCOM/Midwestern University this spring and is now in a psychiatry residency at Riverside Healthcare, Kankakee. He shares his thoughts on being a student and new intern during a pandemic in this Member Pulse. All views are the author's.Being a student during COVID, I battled with this new reality of having an endless amount of time on my hands with nothing to do, yet no way to help. Being accustomed to a high-intensity, fast-paced environment, it was challenging to transition away from rotations and just sit at home unable to contribute. After enduring this new lifestyle for a number of weeks, I felt disoriented, the days meshing together.
Additionally, the transition to online learning proved disorganized; there was no time for school administration to prepare for immediately implementing a new learning model. That led to communication lapses, lack of clear directives, and extended waiting times for IT to resolve technical issues.
With graduation and match week rightfully cancelled for the greater public good, I missed out on those momentous occasions. Conversely, it allowed for a more personal and quiet celebration with family which I found to be a blessing in itself. Nonetheless, it was still shocking to have such an abrupt and unceremonious end to my schooling. I had never considered that 21 years of school would end with emails stating we were off rotations and congratulating me on graduating. It was jarring.
My experience with transition to residency, on the other hand, was seamless. COVID interrupted a psychiatry rotation and then I started my psychiatry residency on an inpatient psychiatry service – it was as though I hadn't missed a beat. I recognize, however, that not everyone was so fortunate; several incoming interns were thrown into demanding services that they were 3-plus months of quarantine underprepared for. Should we have had more orientation training regarding adjustments for COVID? Absolutely.
As a resident not working at the forefront, COVID has not really impacted me. Speaking with residents currently on critical care rotations treating COVID patients, however, I understand how isolating and daunting that must feel. And the inability to see loved ones during the small breaks allotted in residency training out of fear of exposing them is a reality I will know soon enough.
Additionally, the transition to online learning proved disorganized; there was no time for school administration to prepare for immediately implementing a new learning model. That led to communication lapses, lack of clear directives, and extended waiting times for IT to resolve technical issues.
With graduation and match week rightfully cancelled for the greater public good, I missed out on those momentous occasions. Conversely, it allowed for a more personal and quiet celebration with family which I found to be a blessing in itself. Nonetheless, it was still shocking to have such an abrupt and unceremonious end to my schooling. I had never considered that 21 years of school would end with emails stating we were off rotations and congratulating me on graduating. It was jarring.
My experience with transition to residency, on the other hand, was seamless. COVID interrupted a psychiatry rotation and then I started my psychiatry residency on an inpatient psychiatry service – it was as though I hadn't missed a beat. I recognize, however, that not everyone was so fortunate; several incoming interns were thrown into demanding services that they were 3-plus months of quarantine underprepared for. Should we have had more orientation training regarding adjustments for COVID? Absolutely.
As a resident not working at the forefront, COVID has not really impacted me. Speaking with residents currently on critical care rotations treating COVID patients, however, I understand how isolating and daunting that must feel. And the inability to see loved ones during the small breaks allotted in residency training out of fear of exposing them is a reality I will know soon enough.