COVID-19 response

AMA recognizes UChicago medical trainees for making an impact during COVID-19 pandemic

When COVID-19 caused significant disruptions in medical education, both in the classroom and in clinical settings, University of Chicago medical students, residents and fellows moved quickly to contribute to the pandemic response.

The American Medical Association launched the 2020 Health Systems Science Student, Resident and Fellow Impact Challenge to acknowledge meaningful activities designed and led by trainees with respect to COVID-19. Eight UChicago projects—the most submissions by any institution—were accepted for recognition in the national competition.

“Given how challenging the pandemic has been for medical trainees, I am particularly proud of the great work of so many of our students, residents and fellows,” said Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03, Herbert T. Abelson Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Clinical Learning Environment. “They persevered and supported innovations in medical education healthcare delivery that benefited patients and the community.”

Educational support

Medical students, residents and infectious disease fellows collected COVID-19related queries from busy clinicians on the front lines. With the assistance of hospital librarians, the trainees conducted real-time literature searches on the topics and quickly provided critical, synthesized reviews of the newest findings to the providers.

PROJECT LEAD: Gena Lenti, MS4

COVID units

Internal medicine residents staffed the new COVID-19 inpatient service on a volunteer basis, improving quality and efficiency of care and implementing evidence-based data as the pandemic evolved. As the primary care providers in the COVID-19 ICUs, they worked to conserve PPE, adapt resuscitation protocols and champion the use of helmet ventilators.

Valerie Press, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, left, and residents Alexandra Rojek, MD, Jori Sheade, MD, Albina Tyker, MD, and Kevin Prescott, MD.

PROJECT LEAD: Alexandra Rojek, MD,

PGY-2 Internal Medicine

Multidisciplinary rounds

Given the need for physical distancing, multidisciplinary rounds (MDR) were transitioned to a virtual format. The project team implemented a standard process for Zoom MDRs to improve effectiveness while maintaining highquality patient care.

PROJECT LEAD: Anup Das, MD, PhD, PGY-3

Internal Medicine

Leveraging technology

The team adapted existing touchscreen consoles in patient rooms to facilitate effective communication between physicians and nurses while maintaining social distancing and preserving PPE.

PROJECT LEAD: Chase Corvin, MD, MBA,

PGY-2, General Surgery

What is health systems science?

Health systems science aims to train future physicians in how care is delivered, how health professionals work together to deliver that care, and how the modern health system can improve patient care and health care delivery. American Medical Association

Community-based health education

Student leaders at the Bridgeport Free Clinic implemented an online initiative to link patients to COVID-19 resources. Question and answer sessions with UChicago Medicine experts and a support group on a social media platform provided education to Chicago’s Chinesespeaking community.

PROJECT LEAD: Amanda Zhang, MS2

Telehealth

Medical students phoned COVID-19 patients recovering at home to monitor symptoms, identify unmet needs and provide education. The students provided clinical, social and emotional assistance to patients.

PROJECT LEAD: Sophia Uddin,

PhD’14, MS4

Medical student volunteers implemented H&P360—a history and physical with a biopsychosocial framework—in a telehealth setting for COVID-19 patients. The effort sought to engage patients in co-managing their health and assess the psychosocial factors impacting their ability to do so.

PROJECT LEAD: Ramya Parameswaran,

PhD’18, MS4

To improve the clinician, trainee and patient telemedicine experience, project members surveyed primary care clinicians to elucidate overall perceptions of telehealth, identify benefits and barriers, and define training and support needs.

PROJECT LEAD: Zi-Yi Choo, MS2

Faculty mentors for the AMA’s 2020 Health Systems Science Student, Resident and Fellow Impact Challenge included: Vineet Arora, MD, AM’03; Julie Oyler, MD’01; Anita Blanchard, MD’90; Jonathan Lio, MD; Joyce Tang, MD’04; Maria Alcocer Alkureishi, MD; Wei Wei Lee, MD, MPH; and Karen Kim, MD.

‘Kind eyes’: Pritzker student’s video featured as part of Smart Museum series

Inspired by the Smart Museum of Art exhibition, “Take Care,” the Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry invited students to submit short videos that reflect on the questions of how we care for ourselves and each other.

For Susan Feldt, MS3, this meant reflecting on the nature of learning clinical medicine during a pandemic. Her video “Kind Eyes,” featuring fellow medical students from the Class of 2022, was featured as part of the collection titled “a series of small gestures.”

Of the project, Feldt wrote:

“Taking care of patients looks different now. But as students who just started clinical work, pandemic healthcare is all we know. Before we enter a patient’s room, we put on our PPE and try to put down the weight of the work and the world. We do this because we are there to take care of them. But any relationship, even a provider-patient relationship, is in its nature reciprocal, a connection between two people. We can’t leave ourselves outside of the room, and through our PPE, they can still see us. Whether conscious or not, sometimes a patient says something that lifts a bit of that weight off. And that makes the next day easier. These are some of those stories.”

Susan Feldt, MS3, created the “Kind Eyes” video featuring fellow medical students.

Pritzker student establishes national MCAT scholarship for minority women

In her role as national scholarship chair for the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA), Katherine Brito, MS3, wanted to support low-income premedical students from underrepresented backgrounds. With the support of an LMSA friend and mentor, Brito achieved her goal.

María de Fátima Reyes, MD, an ob/gyn resident at the University of California San Francisco, suggested an MCAT award and offered funding. Together, they established the LMSA National Carmen Reyes MCAT Scholarship, named in honor of Reyes’ late mother. Brito then took up the reins for the project. “I created the Katherine Brito, MS3 application and got the word out across the country,” Brito said. Black, Latina, Afro-Latina, and Native premedical women with an interest in becoming physicians to narrow healthcare disparities were encouraged to apply. The scholarship, which covered the full cost of MCAT registration, was awarded to seven women in 2021— 20 percent of the applicant pool.

Brito’s involvement with LMSA began at a premed conference in her home state of California, where she first met Reyes, then a medical student. Brito was elected chapter co-president for the Pritzker School of Medicine in her first year of medical school and served as fundraising and scholarship chair for the LMSA Midwest Region before joining the LMSA National Executive Board.

“Support and mentorship has meant a lot to me over the years,” said Brito, who also manages other LMSA national scholarships. “I wanted to make a sustainable impact and help other low-income women navigate their journey into medicine.”

— Gretchen Rubin