CSOM Graduates Class of 2020 Early to Help Fight COVID-19 Outbreak
Words by Ania Wojas
Graphic by Aspasia Celia Tsampas
The following article was featured in the May 2020 edition of The Campus
New York City is the current epicenter for COVID-19 cases in the United States, with 27,676 hospitalized and 6,182 dead from the disease as of April 12, 2020.
With the increasing need for medical professionals in NYC to battle the rapid spread of Coronavirus, medical schools in the city, including Columbia, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and the CUNY School of Medicine (CSOM) are graduating their class of 2020 early to help mitigate the outbreak. However, this early graduation does not mean that the new class of physicians can start their residencies just yet.
Match Day, which fell on March 20th this year, marked the day when fourth-year medical students were accepted into residency programs across hospitals in the US, most of which begin in July of this year. The months leading up to the start date are crucial in the current fight against Coronavirus, and they are not going to waste.
The majority of early graduates will be working in hospitals around the city with a standard PGY-1 salary under thirty-day contracts, with eligibility to renew said contracts every two weeks until the start date of their residencies. These programs will not be ACGME-accredited (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education), to keep in line with the council’s guidelines. Dr. David Battinelli, who is the chief medical officer at Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider, explains that “[The graduates] will be licensed house officers, with the appropriate amount of supervision…”
The 2020 graduation is particularly salient for the CSOM as the graduates are in the inaugural class of the school. The institution reported a 100% match rate, with 78% of the class continuing their medical careers in New York City, and 48% placing into primary care specialties.
The CSOM has received permission from the CSOM curriculum committee, CUNY, the New York State Education Department, and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to graduate the class of 2020 early. In order to graduate, students must have fulfilled the entire curriculum. Each student has been certified by the Student Academic Progress Committee on April 8, 2020, and all have been certified or provisionally certified for graduation on Friday, April 10. Of the 46 students in the graduating class, 44 officially graduated on Friday, and the remaining 2 will graduate upon completion of requirements. Dr. Erica Friedman, Interim Dean of the CSOM, said that there were not any major problems with the early graduation, explaining, “Almost all students have completed our graduation requirements and successfully achieved our graduation competencies. Since COVID-19 has prevented our students from having clinical experiences, there was little benefit to requiring they do virtual electives to complete the final weeks of medical school. It is more important that our students provide emotional and other support to their families and if possible and practical, volunteer their services as physicians.”
2020 is the inaugural class of the CSOM, since the school’s preliminary accreditation in 2016 and provisional accreditation in 2018. When I spoke to Dr. Lisa Auerbach, the Assistant Dean for the Clinical Curriculum at the CSOM, about the first class being graduated virtually, she said, “It is bittersweet that our first graduating class had to celebrate their wonderful match day virtually. We have not yet decided on a live or virtual graduation, but we hope to have an in-person ceremony at some point.”
I also spoke to Dr. Friedman about her thoughts on the graduates entering the workforce at this time. She said,
No one could have imagined the devastating impact this pandemic has and will have on the lives of New Yorkers, especially those most vulnerable. Our students are well prepared to enter the healthcare workforce and to help address health inequities and improve healthcare for the underserved. We have all been anxiously and excitedly awaiting the day when we would graduate our first class of medical students and recognize their tremendous accomplishments and the success of the CUNY School of Medicine. We are sad that this first pioneering class and their families and loved ones will not be able to have the joy of a live ceremony recognizing their achievements. However, we are so proud of all of them and know they will make a huge difference in the lives of their patients and communities. This pandemic has only reinforced the impact of social determinants on the disparities in care and outcomes and the importance of our school in graduating students who will address these issues.
Dr. Sandy Saintonge, Clinical Professor and Medical Student Advisor at the CSOM, added;
It is quite emotional and bittersweet. The Class of 2020 represents a pivotal moment in Sophie Davis/CSOM's history. It would have been truly wonderful to have a live celebration where faculty, family, and friends could gather together to honor the graduates and their accomplishments. By graduating early, medical students from across the entire U.S. have an unprecedented opportunity to join healthcare providers and care for patients now instead of July when most residencies begin. When the opportunity to graduate early was proposed, our students let us know that they don't want to sit on the sidelines during this pandemic, they want to do what they have been preparing for the last seven years -- to be doctors who are caring for patients in need.
Dr. Rosa Lee, the Associate Dean for Curriculum and Assessment, talked with me about the decision to graduate the class early; “Our school decided to graduate our M4 students early in response to an urgent request from area hospitals for additional healthcare workers to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. We are proud of the ways that our first class of graduates have responded to this call and have begun to participate, either through telehealth opportunities or by signing on to work as staff physicians at hospitals where they will formally begin their residency training in July. The hospitals, in turn, have been so appreciative of and humbled by our new graduates’ desire to help during this time of great need.”
Dr. Auerbach further explained the CSOM’s approach to the early graduation, as opposed to that of other schools; “What some other medical schools did, is they said that if students want to graduate early, they would have to start working to help with the COVID-19 outbreak. What we’re doing by graduating students early is giving them the opportunity to help the effort, but no one is being required to do so.” With that being said, many of the graduates are finding ways to help after they receive their diplomas.
M3 and M4 students can currently volunteer in telehealth services at St. Barnabas Hospital (SBH), communicating between the hospital and the families of patients (who are currently not allowed to see their relatives in the hospital) as liaisons. M4 students may also volunteer in the SBH ICU and round with physicians, to bring information to patients' families directly from the hospital. The Northwell Health System has also opened jobs as part of the ‘Graduate Physicians – COVID Response Team’ to CSOM students that have placed into its residency programs. This contract is a 4-8 week commitment with overtime pay and health insurance. In both the volunteer and paid positions, recent graduates are still being supervised to aid their transition and receive hands-on learning experiences. Additionally, Dr. Lee has been reaching out to other hospitals in the NYC area where students are set to start their residencies in July to see if students can volunteer or work there in the near future.
Dr. Auerbach reflected on the past weeks with the M4 class, since they were removed from live clinical clerkships on March 16; “Clinical faculty have been amazing working with students, teaching them online, despite what is going on in the hospitals, so I think they’ve done a wonderful job maintaining the medical school experience for students.” When asked about how she thinks students will be dealing with the transition to the workforce, Dr. Auerbach explained, “When I started my residency, it was the middle of the AIDS pandemic, so I remember what it’s like to be afraid of things you’re not sure you’ll be able to cure.” She went on to say, “I think that [the students] are 100% [prepared]. I mean, they’re graduated, they’re going to be doctors -- they are doctors.” Dr. Friedman agreed, saying, “I think our students are extremely well prepared to help with the COVID-19 outbreak, specifically because of their training in population health and understanding of how social determinants impact health and health outcomes and also because they have excelled in empathic patient-centered care and in communication skills.” Dr. Saintonge echoed these sentiments; “The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously taken a toll on the entire world and its impact has been devastating. However, as it unfolds, there are glaring disparities with regard to access to masks and gloves, testing, and treatment. The rippling effects of social distancing have led to the highest levels of unemployment, uninsured and food insecurity. From day one of our curriculum, our students have been learning why factors that contribute to inequities matter and how to address them. Armed with these skills and insights our CSOM students are uniquely prepared to provide exceptional medical care that considers the patient holistically.”
A graduate of the 2020 CSOM class, Dr. Malithi Navarathna, spoke to me about her experience with the situation; “For me, especially as an incoming Emergency Medicine intern, it definitely feels like a very scary time to start residency. I also didn't expect the end of my 4th year to be like this, with virtual match day ceremonies and spending so much time apart from my family and friends. However, seeing the medical community come together to support each other in this difficult time, just makes me realize what an amazing profession I am about to enter into, and definitely has not diminished how excited I am to start my career.”
Reflecting on the unique situation at hand, Dr. Saintonge added some final thoughts: “We are so proud of the Class of 2020! As the inaugural class, they are a part of a historic moment that extends beyond being the first class to graduate from the CUNY School of Medicine. Someday in the near future, when social distancing is behind us, the entire faculty is looking forward to when we can all reunite in person and congratulate each and every one of them with warm hugs... the way it was supposed to be. A virtual graduation is no substitute for that.”
To all the healthcare professionals in NYC and around the world, we thank you for risking your lives every day in the face of this pandemic and we wish you continued courage and health -- and to the CSOM Class of 2020: congratulations and good luck.
