If you thought it was tough learning to become a doctor, the COVID-19 pandemic is making things a bit harder for medical students in the North.
The new rules in place at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine are a no-nonsense list of what students can and cannot do in the process of learning at NOSM, which has two campuses, one in Sudbury and the other in Thunder Bay.
For example, travel between the two campuses is severely restricted.
"Until January 2021, work-related travel is NOT permitted," said the NOSM travel advisory document.
"All events and meetings should be planned virtually in order to support NOSM’s goal to reduce the number of people on campus to help slow the potential transmission of the virus and protect vulnerable populations from exposure."
The document said everyone in the NOSM community is expected to live by the new rules.
"Through an exceptional circumstance, if an event on campus is deemed essential, that requires learners or employees to travel between campuses, all travel must be approved by the Associate Dean."
One of the exceptions is that learners and physician residents who are required to travel to clinical placements (small town hospitals and clinics) but all travel arrangements must be pre-approved by school officials.
As might be expected, there is a protocol in place for the mandatory use of face masks for everyone on the premises at NOSM. That said, the school is trying to have as much off-campus learning done as it can, with students learning through online resources.
Students will not be allowed to be on campus unless they have the permission from a supervisor or program lead person. NOSM buildings will be locked to the public and controlled by security guards, said an online NOSM webinar.
Students and faculty are also being encouraged to download the smartphone app COVID Alert that will provide a cell phone notification if a person has been in close contact with another person who has tested positive for COVID-19 and has activated their own cell phone with that information.
They have also been advised that while indoor gatherings allow up to 50 people to get together, such gatherings are not being encouraged. If larger gatherings must be held for academic or accreditation purposes, students must wear full PPE such as face coverings, gowns, gloves, eye cover and hand-hygiene.
Students are also being told to be judicious in absorbing COVID-19 information, especially from social media sources. "Separate facts from rumours. Gather information from reliable sources," the students were told.
Dr. Sarita Verma, the CEO, Dean and President of NOSM, said we are all living in new circumstances. In a recent webinar where she addressed the entire medical school, Verma said anyone with questions should not hesitate to speak up.
Verma said she expected many questions "because we've never done this before.” She added that in the "new normal" of things, she expected plenty of things might not work out right away as unanticipated things could happen in the first few days.
"With all radical change, we adapt," said Verma in a letter posted to the NOSM website.
"Since March, we’ve experienced the most disruptive shift in our way of life that I can recall. With disruption comes the incredible human capacity for adaptation."
Verma also commented on the historical perspective of this pandemic.
"There are those who argue it is too soon to reopen economies. Consider though, what history and science have taught us. We know pandemics come in waves, and often the second or third wave is worse than the first," said Verma.
"Our public health leaders describe the phases of reopening as a fine balance between protecting us and reviving economies.
"Any change — like not shaking hands, wearing a mask in public, or working from home — is likely to make a small disruption. Eventually you will adapt. The new normal will mean an acceleration of virtual ways of life, whether it be through public services, marketing, transportation or, in our case, medical education.”
Another change is that advanced medical students will not be travelling to other medical schools in Canada on any sort of visiting electives. In lieu of that, NBOSM has organized medical career advising sessions which will connect NOSM students with residency programs they might be interested in at other med schools across the country.
Verma said going slow and proceeding with caution is the order of the day for now. She said while some people might consider the new rules to be a personal affront or annoying, the issue is not about personal discomfort. It's about doing what is safe for others and yourself.
"We are really trying to prevent the school from becoming the site of an outbreak," said Verma.
