Be like Fauci? Pandemic inspires surge in med school applications.
-
Noah Robertson Staff writer
Wearing khakis, glasses, a tie, a lab coat, and some dry shampoo for a touch of gray hair, Ryan Farmer added the pi猫ce de r茅sistance to his Halloween costume last year 鈥� a simple name tag reading 鈥淒r. Fauci.鈥澛�
With that, Mr. Farmer had become the nation鈥檚 top expert on infectious disease. In a year defined by the coronavirus pandemic, there hardly could鈥檝e been a more appropriate outfit. To Mr. Farmer, it was more than a costume. It was a calling.
A senior at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, Mr. Farmer is now preparing his application for medical school. He may not be tomorrow鈥檚 Anthony Fauci. He鈥檚 not even sure what kind of doctor he wants to become. But inspired by the selflessness and community service of medical workers over the past year, Mr. Farmer hopes to eventually wear his lab coat at work each day and not just on Halloween.
Why We Wrote This
What makes people devote their entire lives to serving others? Witnessing the selflessness of medical personnel during the pandemic has helped to inspire thousands of prospective medical students.
鈥淚 think the kind of people who have stepped up all around the country are the kind of people we need more of,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want to be a part of that community.鈥�
Across the country, many young people planning their careers share the same sentiment, and are taking steps to make it a reality. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), medical school applications for this year rose 18%, an enormous jump for the field. While these applicants won鈥檛 practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, their increase is tangible evidence of a rally-round-the-flag effect in public health and medicine, which could help stave off a looming shortage of medical workers in the next decade.
Perhaps not since 9/11 鈥� when droves of young people followed the career footsteps of first responders, soldiers, and firefighters 鈥� have current events shaped the area of work people pursue, says Mary McSweeney, assistant dean for admissions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison鈥檚 School of Medicine and Public Health.
鈥淧eople who go into medicine want to help people,鈥� says Dr. McSweeney, 鈥渁nd this is the ultimate time to help people.鈥�
Over the past 20 years, medical school applications have risen only slightly, just 2.5%, despite a 16% growth in population. That makes this past year鈥檚 near 20% jump an almost unprecedented aberration,聽 says Geoffrey Young, the senior director of student affairs and programs at the AAMC.聽
A number of factors are likely driving that surge, he says.聽
For some it may come down to simple logistics.聽
To be competitive, medical school applicants must start building a portfolio in their first year of college. Yet the gap between a portfolio and an application can be wide. A rise in free time during the pandemic, says Dr. Young, may be giving young people more time to apply.聽
But the pandemic has also given public health officials broader visibility among the public. The so-called Fauci Effect, named after Dr. Fauci, may inspire increased interest in medicine and public health for years to come as students enter college during the pandemic, says Dr. Young.
Such attention could bring a welcome boost in funding for medical schools and internship programs, perhaps helping remedy an impending physician shortage projected by the AAMC.聽
鈥淭his has been a really great opportunity to be able to teach public health, because when you have a pandemic going on, obviously it鈥檚 captured the entire nation鈥檚 interest and it gives a real context,鈥� says Dr. McSweeney.
A spotlight on public health
For those already studying medicine and public health, the pandemic has added resonance to their education. 聽
Samantha Banks applied for the University of Washington鈥檚 master鈥檚 in epidemiology program because she wanted a career that met people鈥檚 needs in real time. Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly a formative moment in Ms. Banks鈥� education coincided with a formative moment in the field at large.聽
鈥淐OVID might have put the spotlight on public health a little bit more than anything else,鈥� she says, now in her second semester in the program and still deciding where she wants to work after graduating 鈥� a choice the pandemic is certain to affect.
In contrast, across the country in Norfolk, Virginia, Ashley Carter has known what she wants to be since she was 10 years old. 鈥淐OVID or no COVID, I was going to do the same thing I鈥檓 doing now,鈥� says Ms. Carter, in her first year studying to be a neurosurgeon at Eastern Virginia Medical School.聽
Still, the pandemic has validated her idea of what doctors do: prepare for and respond to emergencies.聽
Amid such a turbulent year, with the pandemic forcing her first two semesters of medical school online, the example set by medical workers reminds her of what she aspires to be. Some may look to Dr. Fauci, she says, but there are millions of other medical workers in the United States who don鈥檛 have a camera on them.聽
鈥淓very nurse, every doctor, every sanitation worker, every single person who is a part of the health care system, to make it run and sustain the system in general throughout this time, is a hero to me,鈥� says Ms. Carter.
Someone to look up to
Jenny Shen, a researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, is one of those near-anonymous employees.聽
In 2015, Ms. Shen left her job in banking and enrolled in a biostatistics program at Columbia, where she鈥檚 worked since graduating.
It was difficult at first, she says, adjusting to the patience required in the field. Her research didn鈥檛 have a clear destination, and at times she wondered if she made the right choice.聽
But since the pandemic Ms. Shen has seen the ability of her field to meet the needs of the moment. Though her existing research has continued, she鈥檚 also contributed to COVID-19 research and data collection in a partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.聽
For her, the last year has been a live lesson on the importance of medicine and public health 鈥� especially the example set by her co-workers.聽
鈥淒uring April, May, that darkest time in New York City, I saw my colleagues were so brave to go to the hospital,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey really, really inspired me.鈥�
Even though he鈥檚 years younger than Ms. Shen and only has a vague idea of his future, Mr. Farmer, the senior at William & Mary, finds inspiration in the same place.聽
鈥淎ll of those people who鈥檝e been sacrificing so many things in their lives to help all of us,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hose are the people I want to be.鈥�
