Medicine Applications Increase Amidst Pandemic

Stethoscope and face mask lay on folded nurse scrubs. Jesse Fraga/PantherNOW.

Elena Key/Contributing Writer

More students than ever are trading papers and pencils into lab coats and stethoscopes, as FIU medical school applications increase. Two second year medical students at the FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine pursue the field of medicine through their experiences.

The FIU’s Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine has received 7,400 applications in the 2020-2021 cycle, compared to 4,800 in 2019, according to the director of Admissions and Recruitment, Cristina Arabatzis.

While some blame the pandemic for this spike, COVID-19 is not the only cause, associate dean of Student Affairs and assistant professor Adrian Jones of the College of Medicine explained.

“This trend started a couple years ago and it’s typically an economic issue when you see economic downturns, especially from the stock market or in business,” said Jones. 

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, “A peak in monthly economic activity occurred in the U.S. economy in Feb. 2020. The peak marks the end of the [economic] expansion that began in June 2009, and the beginning of a recession.”

The economic downturn has contributed to an increase in applications for fields that offer financial stability. 

“People typically tend to go to careers a little bit more stable, so you’ll start to see increases in applications to professional schools, specifically law, medicine, business and those kinds of things,” said Jones.

 To be considered for acceptance, students must have shadowed physicians, volunteered, researched and obtained leadership roles.

According to Arabatzis, only 120 students were accepted. While applications have increased, the school’s acceptance rate of 7% has not. 

Students must have a wide variety of experiences that bring value to the school, Jones pointed out.

“We’re [not only] looking for students with a good head, but a better heart,” said Jones

Nicholas Conway and Brittney Pardinas are second-year students at the College of Medicine who have met these criteria.

Pardinas is the FIU Medical Student Council president. Conway is a representative of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

As a child, Pardinas had to help her Spanish-speaking grandmother communicate at doctor’s appointments.  

“I saw first hand how difficult it was sometimes for underrepresented patients to interact with their doctors,” said Pardinas, referring to the lack of Hispanic representation in medicine.

According to AAMC’s 2018 figure, only 5.8% of physicians in the U.S. are Hispanic. 

There were also doctors that would go out of their way to adapt and help Pardinas grandmother. After seeing the doctors tend to her grandmother, she was inspired to pursue medicine.

“These doctors really made a difference in my life and I hope to do the same for other families like my own,” said Pardinas.

As an undergraduate, Conway thought he had cancer, after losing 20 pounds in two months and receiving abnormal blood work. Physicians suspected a form of liver cancer or an autoimmune disease.

Conway has also previously had various health issues, growing up he was in and out of doctors’ offices with allergies and asthma, in college he had pneumonia, and also had to have his gallbladder removed.

The cancer scare and other health issues led Conway to experience the medical field from a patient’s point of view.

“I’ve been both the patient and the caregiver,” said Conway.

His family of healthcare workers also sparked his interest in the field.

Jones hopes that the interest in medical school will only continue to rise.

“We’re always going to need health workers, we’re always going to need nurses… this isn’t going to go away,” said Jones

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