TOLEDO, Ohio — The pandemic has changed many things, including the way students learn.
Following four years of undergrad and seven years of post-grad, Claire Meikle is graduating from the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences school with an MD and a PhD in Biomedical Science.
She says learning in a pandemic was different but fortunately, there were a lot of new opportunities medical students were able to take it advantage of.
"We were able to help with vaccination clinics and COVID-19 testing and a lot of that hands-on experience that wouldn't have had the opportunity to do, were it not for this pandemic," said Meikle.
Meikle says learning new updates from the CDC and the World Health Organization every day kept her mind thinking about the future.
"What are we going to be implementing when we actually get out into practice? And how is that going to change the way that we interact with our patients," said Meikle.
The pandemic also solidified her plan a little bit more. She said she's thrilled to be going into family medicine and psychiatry.
"I've seen the need for primary care in the Toledo community and across the nation as well, so it just reaffirms my dedication to the specialty," said Meikle.
She graduates Friday and then will head down to Cincinnati to move into her new home before starting her residency.
