As the COVID-19 pandemic overwhelms health care systems in New York and other hard-hit states around the country, some medical schools are offering a months-early graduation to students who can help to staff strained hospitals.
This is reasonable under the circumstances. One pertinent detail not mentioned in the article – clinical rotation for many of these students has already been halted. A gaggle of scrubs following their assigned MD around isn’t very helpful when hospitals are trying desperately to reduce unnecessary traffic in clinical areas to manage exposure and spread. To put that another way, “staying in school” has minimal benefit for these students under the circumstances; the last year of an MD is not heavily classroom-based.
It definitely won’t hurt, so I’m glad they’re considering this.
Every age has its “wars”, and those on the front lines will be talking about it in their old age. These young doctors are the bravest, sent into the breach of what is shaping up to be the craziest 90 days in their lives.
Cutting out education requirements for Doctors.
Releasing non-violent prisoners.
Payments to citizens to keep the economy going.
Steps like these in a pandemic make you wonder the utility of not doing that at other times.
I told those hotshot honchos to do these things, like you asked me to do. I deserve a little credit for this.
Thanks to all those already treating patients and to those willing to graduate early so they can help not only patients but also their medical colleagues. They are the heroes.
They don’t call it “practicing” medicine for nothing.
Only the Pandemic president gets to take credit, don’t ya know. Move along now.
True. Note that a newly-graduated MD isn’t entitled to practice independently even in normal times, so it’s not as drastic a change as it might sound. The proposal here is they enter residency slightly earlier than would otherwise have been the case, but they’ll still be supervised and have their orders counter-signed etc, like any first-year resident.
edited to add: looks like the proposal isn’t even that they operate as a new resident, but as a more general sort of clinical support in a non-physician role.
Oh, no disagreement. It’s just highlighting the pointless things that we do just because “that’s how it’s always been done”, rather than that they are value-add.
I’m hoping these newly minted doctors can stay safe, but I have to admit, their lack of experience and lack of PPE concerns me greatly. I hope they’re kept more in a supportive role, which is also important in these times. An experienced nurse is more valuable than a fresh-faced young doctor in a crisis.
They should consider doing the same for nursing students, respiratory techs, and other medical technologists as well. It’s all hands on deck time in places like New York.
Please tell me Liberty University doesn’t have a med school.
It’s certainly true many licensure requirements in the US function more as a barrier to entry than to enhance public safety.
Though I will say, I prefer my doctors and nurses to be licensed.
Pelosi is briefing now.
Blessing in disguise. Think of the practice they’ll get–on intubations alone they’ll be able to do it like they invented it all the rest of their lives.
There was a bit last night on Rachel where she talked about this very thing, and the unhatched docs were being trained as emergency nurses.
Truer words have rarely been spoken. 
This will be fine if they’re supportive and used as manpower to off-load the more straightforward cases. Anything else and it will be like letting monkeys loose – if 30% of the monkeys were arrogant and entitled (I’m a Phd not a medical doc or a nurse, but I work with both often enough to feel I can make harsh judgements :P)
Of course you do, because that’s what you’re conditioned to believe, that it confers some extra level of safety for your well-being.
A few years back in Germany, the top doctor at one of their major hospitals, one who had been in place for years, was found out to not actually be one.
Really brings out the pointlessness of some things. If he had gone so many years and nobody noticed, and he managed to get to the very top, must not have been doing poorly.
That’s the exception, though, not the rule. That person is obviously a genius. Most of us need the structure of formal training to attain competence. Even then, there’s a Gaussian distribution in terms of ability. You’ve got Dr. Fauci on one end of the spectrum and Rand Paul on the other.
“Bananas” Surgery scene.