I have been told by many that I should savor my 4th year medical school year. I have had a few months off already, and now have three in a row coming up. I will, of course, be using it for research. Others travel abroad. Some work on volunteer projects. A choice few will fill that time with coursework.
But this 4th year Spring is, in large part, deadspace. A big gap in the rush towards residency. I realized a few days ago that, at this point, I have fulfilled all the requirements that will make me a doctor. I have taken all of the tests, sat in all of the classes, spent all the time on the wards. There is a one week course at the very end that I need to take, but it is largely a formality.
And yet, I do not get my degree until May. Until that time I am just like any medical student in the hospital, 3rd or 4th year. I cannot write orders, I cannot write notes that count for billing purposes, and I cannot do any work outside the hospital as an M.D., patient care or no. While I have all the freedom in the world, I also have little real responsibility and no opportunity to up my game before being slammed by residency.
This seems foolish. Why would such an expensive system waste such valuable time? In all honesty, I can't figure out the reason. Perhaps it's that the home institution, with its students already matched with residencies, has little incentive to continue to invest time and effort in them. Perhaps more likely, the fact that we are not formally MD's makes us a legal liability and therefore we cannot be given intern level capabilities. Equally possible, perhaps this is what generations of students have demanded: an eye in the storm.
Regardless of the reason, it doesn't have to continue. Waiting for a degree prevents students from taking the next steps in their education when they are ready. It makes the hospital less efficient. It limits an educational opportunity. Residency can start in June, that's fine. We can still walk across the stage in May. In the interim, though, let's recognize the progress we have made for what it is and grant the degree when it has been earned, be that in April, March, or even January! The potential uses of the ensuing time would likely be as varied as they are today, perhaps more so, as some former students might use their new credential in creative ways. Let's unleash this trapped potential.
