Yesterday I returned to the classroom and it felt wonderful. After a year of Zooming, interacting with students in person was a refreshing change.
Before moving to Washington DC in 2017, I was at Michigan State University (MSU). This is the institution that molded me into being a researcher, giving me “protected time” and money to veer my career into global health. MSU put me on a path to obtain a Masters in Epidemiology (to learn research skills) and sent me to Africa to gain real-world experience. MSU is also the employer of Terrie Taylor, head of the Blantyre Malaria Project.
At MSU, second year medical students can elect to enroll in IM618, clinical tropical medicine. In this semester-long course they learn about diseases common in low and middle income countries- malaria, tuberculosis, and many others. Although successfully completing the course is a prerequisite for students to rotate in Malawi later in their school career, some enroll simply because they are interested in the subject matter.
Two years after I arrived at MSU, Dr. Taylor had an especially busy travel schedule and asked if I could substitute for her in teaching a couple weeks of IM618. The course met Tuesday evenings from 5-7 p.m. I consented and did two presentations on tuberculosis. The following year, we began co-teaching the course. Initially, class meetings were in-person for 12 consecutive weeks. We alternated lectures about disease states with case-presentations. Students used the information they learned in the lectures to solve the cases. This worked well but was exhausting. During the day the students were in class and I was seeing patients. After 8-9 hours of work, going to learn about tropical medicine might not be high on everyone’s list of priorities.
Eventually, a student suggested Dr. Taylor and I modify the class format. Would it be possible to pre-record the didactic material (the lectures about diseases) and reserve in-person time for solving patient cases? Two weeks online, one in person. Repeat over and over. It was a great idea and the course has subsequently been taught this way. Students listen and learn on their own time, but can still interact with their teachers during the case-presentation sessions.
The class’s enthusiasm was palpable. Everyone was energized when 7 p.m. arrived.
In 2020, MSU temporarily moved to a complete online format for classes like IM618, courses where interactions with live patients were unnecessary. Although understandable, it was suboptimal for everyone. Consequently, for the last few weeks I have anxiously anticipated returning to the classroom.
We all wore masks. Although I could not see students’ frowns or smiles as I communicated with them, their questions were numerous and appropriate. The class’s enthusiasm was palpable. Everyone was energized when 7 p.m. arrived.
When I was in medical school, I felt like I was being asked to rapidly push a tremendous amount of knowledge into my brain. If someone had suggested adding a 5-7 p.m. elective on top of my already busy schedule I would have scoffed. Medical school was not fun. It was survival. In contrast, the medical students at MSU who enroll in IM618 are volunteering to learn more than what is required to graduate. I am proud to be a teacher of this amazing group.
