Last Sunday evening’s emails came as a shock to many of us. Although aware of the seriousness of COVID-19, the clarification that face-to-face university classes were cancelled for the rest of the academic year was hard-hitting. The evening brought many worries, questions and unsettling decisions to the forefront of students’ minds. Some decided to pack up and go within 24 hours, others waited to process the news and many of us came together to be with each other with all the unsettlement. Some of Jannetta’s famous ice cream and a late-night walk around St Andrews with fellow course mates was a breath of fresh, calm air before bed. The news had not really sunk in and for now we were all still in St Andrews together, figuring out this new situation.
Each day of the week went incredibly fast. Although remote learning had technically started, there was not an ounce of focus in me. My time was filled with friends in the fresh air and blue skies that had graced St Andrews with the odd free meal from the University catered accommodation. The prospect of not having this time together again in St Andrews made me want to enjoy whatever time we had left before everyone went their separate ways. Everything seemed surreal and occupying ourselves as though we were on some sort of weird vacation seemed to work for the time being.
As we approached Wednesday, the gravity of the situation was getting through. More emails filled my inbox, strongly encouraging those students who were left to go home. There was now urgency. If we wanted to spend the next period at home or elsewhere, we needed to move fast. Goodbyes are tough. Goodbyes are sad. Goodbyes leave an empty feeling in the aftermath. Saying goodbye to coursemates was all three of these things and more. ScotGEM is a small cohort, a community and a team. I hold my hands up now and admit that I took for granted how much I appreciate, value and need this community of us. We embarked in this journey together to all become doctors and despite it being just seven months, as each person left to head off to their next stop, their presence was greatly missed.
Thursday brought some familiarity to this abnormal week. An online Microsoft Teams call with our GCM and clinical group was refreshing. To see familiar faces brought back that community feeling. Our wonderful GCM Dr Kenny Bell and best group in Auchtermuchty (might be biased) spent a little time at the start of our meeting talking about current events. Sharing our thoughts and feelings on it all was incredibly insightful. It was an eye opener to hear how Dr Bell’s life has had to adapt since the beginning of the week and how hard it must be on the frontline for he and his family and many others in similar situations. After this, we cracked on with some Chronic Kidney Disease discussion and a quiz on the weekly case. It was almost a relief to occupy my brains with some eGFR readings and albumin creatinine ratios. Post meeting, I felt more clarity, I felt comforted and I had faith that this was going to work. If anyone can deliver a course in remote settings, it is ScotGEM. The course is filled with so many wonderful people who are all willing everyone to succeed. Despite current situations, I am positive that we will be able to continue our learning to a high level and complete our first year. This new format is very different, but part of medicine is learning to adapt and work together.
Importantly, a shout-out to the staff behind ScotGEM, who have been incredibly quick to react to this situation. I can’t begin to imagine the pressures on those individuals throughout this all and in such a short space of time. An online plenary on Friday was a further reminder of how much effort and time is going into ensuring we can continue with our studies. Staff have gone above and beyond, having to juggle work, clinical commitments and personal life, whilst ensuring they stay safe. It is very much appreciated, and I feel grateful to be part of such a supportive environment.
It is now almost a week since hearing the news of face-to-face teaching being cancelled. I am at home finally and felt the need to reflect upon everything. After a turbulent week I think there is a lot we can learn from this. It is so important to remain as a strong and flexible team, who remain motivated and hard-working. I am incredibly sad about not having face-to-face contact with our course for the foreseeable. However, this also reminds me of how lucky we actually are to be able to continue our journey to becoming doctors. I constantly remind myself of how grateful I am, as I know that COVID-19 has caused a lot more disruption, stress and sadness to so many others in less fortunate positions. This pandemic has shaken the world and although we have been shaken up, we can bounce back from this. We can bounce back to help the NHS and those in need in future years. We can take inspiration from those working tirelessly in the hospitals and community at this time. We can help our local communities now, get involved and help make someone’s day a little better, all whilst resuming our studies. We are all so lucky and I am very thankful and proud to be part of ScotGEM.
Photo of St Andrews Cathedral by Daniel Peckham, licenced under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.