NYITCOM at A-State Welcomes Class of 2024 Under Unique Circumstances

Dr. Shane Speights stood in front of a quarter-capacity lecture hall wearing a face mask that stretched from the bottom of his chin to the bridge of his nose as he greeted a portion of New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine at Arkansas State University’s newest class of medical students.  

“Welcome to medical school,” said Speights, dean of NYITCOM at A-State. “I’m not quite sure it’s the first day of medical school you envisioned, and it’s certainly not one we would have envisioned for you. But it is what it is, and this is what we do during a global pandemic.”   

The first two rows of the Wilson Hall auditorium were left vacant to socially distance the speaker from the students. Seats were taped off with signs instructing students to leave two empty chairs between each other. Before taking their place in the lecture hall, students had their faces electronically scanned to check their body temperature and make sure they, like Speights, were wearing a facial covering.  

In a lecture that lasted approximately 45 minutes, Speights explained the ins and outs of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has turned the world upside down over the last eight months and caused the NYITCOM Class of 2024 to enter medical school in a fashion never before experienced by a group of medical students.  

Speights discussed genetics of the coronavirus, method of spread, the symptoms, and potential long-term health effects suffered by those who contract COVID-19. He talked about the search for a vaccine.

Speights also explained the importance of carrying on business and shared how NYITCOM would do its best to protect its faculty, staff, and students while doing so.  

“Every sector, institution, and business across the globe is affected by this, and medical school is no different,” Speights said. “But we have to continue because medical school is the pipeline of the physician workforce not only of this country, but of the world. If we decided to stop medical school and say, ‘We’re just going to take a year off,’ then all of the sudden, there’s a domino effect. Now you don’t have graduates that go into residencies, and now you don’t have surgeons and pediatricians and emergency department physicians and neurologists and everything else we have to have to maintain a healthcare system. 

While NYITCOM usually welcomes its entire class for one orientation session, the Class of 2024 was broken into four groups to limit the number of individuals in the auditorium at one time, and four sessions were held over the course of two days.  

While lectures will be delivered exclusively online for the time being, there are portions of medical school, namely laboratories, that must be delivered in person. Students will be grouped in small numbers for those labs to limit the size of those congregating in a room together. Speights also informed the students that the early portion of the semester would be front-loaded with labs in anticipation the health crisis worsens in Arkansas and doesn’t allow even the smallest gatherings later in the year.  

“We’ve gone through great lengths to prepare for this,” Speights said. “I can’t say enough about the work our faculty and staff have done to adjust to what’s a new normal for the time being. We’re excited to have you here. Now let’s get to work.” 

 

08/10/2020