One year
As 2020 draws to a close, UF medical and PA students reflect on lessons learned, impacts made
December 15, 2020 – There has been no year quite like it. 2020 has brought heartache and surprise, pain and unexpected moments of gratitude to those across the globe dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. For UF medical and PA students, receiving an education took a very different form, resulting in lessons learned that will last a lifetime.
Adjusting to distance learning meant peering into laptops instead of cadavers during anatomy instruction. Clinical study meant trading the hospital exam room for the greater city of Gainesville to conduct public health work within the local community. Students at all levels of their training banded together to volunteer their time assisting physicians and staff at the UF Mobile Outreach Clinic in testing the local homeless population and others for COVID-19, babysitting the children of UF Health Shands staff who continue to work overtime on the front lines, as well as completing a host of service projects for Gainesville’s community through efforts of the COVID-19 Student Service Corps.
Doctor Gator asked a few UF medical and PA students about the lessons learned from 2020 that they’ll hold close throughout their future careers — the skills they gained to become better patient care providers and the times they surprised themselves by doing something they didn’t realize was possible.
Lucie Moore, first-year medical student and recipient of the Dean’s Preeminence Scholarship and the Future Gator Doc Scholarship
“I experienced firsthand how generous people are in times of need. My entire class has been so wonderful and supportive. Even though we’re going through a hard time, the good in people will still come out. This year has taught everyone that we are more resilient than we could have imagined. I thought doing medical school online during a pandemic would be impossible. And here we are, nearly at the end of our first semester. I’m very proud of everyone.”
–Lucie Moore, first-year medical student and recipient of the Dean’s Preeminence Scholarship and the Future Gator Doc Scholarship
Adam Bria, first-year medical student and recipient of the Dr. Stephen and Shelley Waters Scholarship
“By far the most important lesson I learned was the connection between adaptability and attitude. In the beginning of the pandemic, when the reality of the situation was setting in, I realized I had a choice to make. I could sulk about all the things I was missing, or I could embrace the changes head-on with a positive outlook and be grateful for the things I still had. It didn’t take long to accept that only one of these options was going to work for me. After a while, it became a reflex. In medicine, I am jumping into a world of unpredictability. I will never know for sure how medicine will change over the years, or what challenges the next patient will bring, but I will be ready to adapt.”
–Adam Bria, first-year medical student and recipient of the Dr. Stephen and Shelley Waters Scholarship
Diana Aragon, second-year PA student and recipient of the Lt. Col. David Gwinn Memorial Scholarship from the Veteran Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
“We, the human race, are currently navigating uncharted waters that come with COVID-19. Exercising empathy and compassion and remembering that we, as medical providers, pursued this career due to our love for humanity and our desire to help is something that has held very true for me this year. It’s something I plan to keep on the forefront of every patient encounter I will have throughout my career. Witnessing the courage and selflessness with which health care providers faced COVID-19 is truly inspiring and motivating me to be a contributing part of the medical community.”
–Diana Aragon, second-year PA student and recipient of the Lt. Col. David Gwinn Memorial Scholarship from the Veteran Caucus of the American Academy of Physician Assistants
Dru Curtis, third-year medical student and recipient of the William W. and Marie C. Wolff Scholarship
“This year has taught me that tomorrow isn’t promised, so express your gratitude today. During my clinical rotations, I’ve come across my patients’ different pathologies and life experiences. Learning from what each of them go through every day makes me feel blessed to have this profession where I can serve other people. I try to continually use mindfulness and reflect on my experiences in the clinic. There’s a lot of work to be done this year, and it has forced us to think about what role we’re going to play in our community’s future.”
–Dru Curtis, third-year medical student and recipient of the William W. and Marie C. Wolff Scholarship
Jayden Curry, fourth-year medical student and recipient of the Hugh and Mabel Wilford Scholarship
“I learned from my role model, Dr. Roi Dagan (who received this advice from one of his role models, Dr. Nancy Mendenhall), that by taking ownership of positive outcomes, we also inevitably blame ourselves when we run into negative outcomes. The joy comes in investing ourselves in the work itself. Then we don’t become destroyed by the bad outcomes or inflated by the good ones. We are able to be there for patients through it all as we celebrate the process of work well done.”
— Jayden Curry, fourth-year medical student and recipient of the Hugh and Mabel Wilford Scholarship
