Lack of in-person learning
Can you speak to the limited in-person learning we have received? Please explain the gap that was told to us in the summer (1 day a week) to what is happening now? Can't the the school apply for waivers to the DPH regulations?
In-person learning has been more difficult than we anticipated. Some of it has been tied to lack of space in the clinical spaces for healthcare teams. This has reduced our ability to embed first year students in the healthcare system even for shadowing. Faculty have also had extenuating circumstances related to COVID that have hindered their ability to teach in-person.
In all honesty, most of the decisions that are being made are being made beyond medical education and are related to public health guidelines. We have applied for waivers to DPH regulations. Unfortunately, the waivers never allow us to go beyond the non-pharmalogic measures related to COVID 19 infection such as social distancing and PPE. We are constrained by regulations regarding the amount of time we can have students together and the size of those gatherings.