Lessons from COVID-19: The Perspective of an International Medical Student Back in the United States

Authors

  • Avnee Nulkar University College Cork

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2020.527

Keywords:

COVID-19, pandemic, patient care, healthcare, medical student

Abstract

As current medical students, we are in a unique position. Although we possess some medical knowledge, our hometowns may require a medical diploma to provide clinical aid in the fight against COVID-19. However, upon arrival from my medical school in Ireland to my home state of California, multiple community-based opportunities to assist patients were discovered. While medical students provide community care, we can also observe our surroundings, learn from the current situation, and deduce methods of improving patient care and healthcare systems, with hopes of preventing such repercussions if a similar pandemic were to occur in the future. This experience piece aims to express shifts in a medical student’s perspective amidst COVID-19 and explicate potential ways in which the American healthcare system can improve.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biography

Avnee Nulkar, University College Cork

Medical student

References

Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. Governor Newsom announces California Health Corps, a major initiative to expand health care workforce to fight COVID-19. Last updated: Mar 30, 2020; cited Apr 15, 2020. Available from: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/03/30/governor-newsom-announces-california-health-corps-a-major-initiative-to-expand-health-care-workforce-to-fight-covid-19/.

Ridic G, Gleason S, Ridic O. Comparisons of health care systems in the United States, Germany and Canada. Mater Sociomed. 2012;24(2):112-20

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Health Insurance Coverage of the Total Population. Last updated: Jan, 2019; cited Apr 15, 2020. Available from: https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-population/.

Tanne J, Hayasaki E, Zastrow M, Pulla P, Smith P, Rada A. Covid-19: how doctors and healthcare systems are tackling coronavirus worldwide. BMJ. 2020 Mar 18;368:m1090.

King J. Covid-19 and the need for health care reform. N Engl J Med. 2020 Apr 17. [Epub ahead of print]

National Academies (US), Institute of Medicine (US), Woolf S ed, Aron L ed. U.S. Health in international perspective: shorter lives, poorer health. Washington DC: National Academies Press; 2013. Cited Apr 16, 2020. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24006554

Published

2020-04-30

How to Cite

Nulkar, A. (2020). Lessons from COVID-19: The Perspective of an International Medical Student Back in the United States. International Journal of Medical Students, 8(1), 75–76. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2020.527