How U.S. Medical Schools Are Training a Post-Pandemic Generation of Doctors

On November 24, 2020, TIME covered the topic of how medical schools in the United States are training future doctors for a post-pandemic world.

“The COVID-19 pandemic had put a hold on almost every facet of ‘normal’ life, and the medical system was scrambling to treat millions of patients with a new and terrifying disease, a disproportionate number of them Black and brown. The streets were filled with people protesting police brutality and racism, as a nation that had long overslept awoke to the disparities woven into almost every American institution.”

Founding Dean of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Dr. Mark Schuster is quoted as saying, “Our country doesn’t just have a pandemic; it also has a renewed recognition of centuries of racism. We need to make sure that our students understand our history.”

The article continues on to discuss how medical schools all over the world have had to adjust on the fly, in both practical and ideological ways.

“First, schools had to figure out how to remotely train students in skills taught hands-on before lockdowns. Then, in the U.S., schools were also forced to grapple with their roles in a health care system that often fails to keep Black and brown patients well. That meant learning how to produce doctors who could help chip away at those disparities moving forward. With no warning and no instruction manual, medical schools are figuring out how to train a generation of post-pandemic doctors for a world still taking shape.”

Dr. Schuster was part of the 2020 LA County Bioscience Forum: Advancing Diversity and Equity in October 2020.

You can read the full article here.