.
On behalf of our team at UC San Diego School of Medicine, we are writing to
request your assistance in disseminating an online survey regarding the impact
of COVID-19 on pre-medical (and pre-health) applicants.
As
a matter of introduction, we are a team of intensivists and clinical
researchers at UCSD. For more than a decade, we have had the pleasure of
working with dozens of talented pre-medical undergraduate research assistants,
many who have gone on to successful careers in medicine.
For
many of our pre-medical students and their peers, the COVID-19 pandemic has
deeply affected the medical school application process. To evaluate this effect
further, we have partnered with our students to assemble a brief (<5 min)
survey evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on medical school applications, along
with mental health. So far, UCSD students completing the survey have responded
favorably, including: “This survey is great for a personal mental health check
… was quick, easy, and well written. I recommend any college student wanting to
go into the healthcare field to take this survey!”
We
hope the results of this survey will help inform efforts aimed at minimizing
barriers and stressors surrounding the medical school application process.
Moreover, we hope the survey will demonstrate that the future of our healthcare
system is strong, with potential applicants remaining committed to medical
careers despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
We
have disseminated the survey locally but are trying to capture a broader US
sample. We were hoping you would be able to help with dissemination, by posting
the survey to your pre-medical/pre-health website, email list, and/or social
media platform (Twitter, Facebook, Reddit). For your convenience, we have
provided the survey link and a variety of advertisements below.
We
sincerely appreciate your dedication to future healthcare providers and thank
you for considering this request. If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to email me.
Sincerely,
Biren
Kamdar, MD, MBA, MHS
Associate
Professor of Medicine
Division
of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
UC
San Diego School of Medicine
on
behalf of
Matthew
Light, MD
Laura
Crotty-Alexander, MD
Jamie
Labuzetta, MD
Deepti
Gunge (UCSD undergraduate)
Ira
Advani (UCSD undergraduate)
SURVEY POSTS:
Pre-med specific:
- Pre-Med students: Has COVID-19
impacted your future plans? We at UC San Diego are eager to learn how the
pandemic has affected you and invite you to take a short, 5-minute
survey. Your input may help us better understand the challenges
you and other pre-health students are facing during this pandemic. Your
participation is greatly valued: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
- Has
COVID led to a delay in taking the MCAT? Cancellation of your summer
internship? Affected your ability to get letters of rec? As a team of UCSD
researchers, we want YOUR thoughts via our short survey about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting your plans to
pursue a pre-health career! Click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
- We know that
a lot of MCAT and volunteer/extracurricular opportunities have been
delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team of UCSD researchers are
trying to get a better grasp on understanding these difficulties and
stressors during these unprecedented times. To help us and potentially
improve the application process in the future, please take this short
survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
Pre-dental specific:
- Has
COVID-19 affected your DAT plans? Summer shadowing opportunities? Your
ability to obtain letters of recommendation? We at UC San Diego want to
know! Please complete this short survey about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted pre-health
applicants: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
Generic pre-health:
- Has
COVID-19 affected your GRE/MCAT/pre-health school exam plans? Summer
shadowing opportunities? Your ability to obtain letters of recommendation?
We at UC San Diego want to know! Please complete this short survey about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted pre-health
applicants: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
- Pre-health (Pre-Med,
Pre-Dental, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Pharmacy, etc.) students: Has COVID-19
impacted your future plans? We at UC San Diego are eager to learn how the
pandemic has affected you and invite you to take this short, 5-minute
survey. Your input may help us better understand the challenges
you and other pre-health students are facing during this pandemic. Your
participation is greatly valued: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
- Dear
Pre-health (Pre-Med, Pre-Dental, Pre-Optometry, Pre-Pharmacy, etc.)
students: How has COVID-19 impacted your future? We at UC San Diego are
eager to learn how the pandemic has affected you and invite you to take
this short, 5-minute
survey. As future healthcare providers, your input may help us
better understand the challenges you and other pre-health students are
facing in entering the field. We greatly value your participation: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
- Pre-med?
Pre-health? Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your plans in applying to
the pre-health career of your choice? Fill out this short survey
(~5 minutes) so our team of UCSD researchers can better understand the
challenges you are facing during this difficult time. Analyzing the
results of this survey may give us the opportunity to better help the
application process in the future. Click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
- Pre-med?
Pre-health? Has the COVID-19 pandemic delayed your MCAT, shadowing
opportunities, and/or other volunteering/extracurricular plans? Our team
of UCSD researchers wants to understand the challenges you are facing.
Please fill out this short survey
(~5 minutes) about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting your plans to
pursue a pre-health career. We hope this information can help us improve
the application process. Click here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/COVIDprehealth
