From the Editor
Academic Medicine in the Time of COVID-19
Coronavirus continues to move
relentlessly throughout the world, with
isolation and suffering as its unwelcome
companions. The impact is being felt
by individuals, families, communities,
and nations. Lives and livelihoods have
been lost, and no person is unaffected.
Medically vulnerable people, members
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of underrepresented groups, essential
workers, and health care professionals
have for months been carrying more than
their share of risk and burden due to the
infection. Inadequate, maldistributed
health and economic resources are
widening existing health and societal
disparities. Hundreds of thousands of
people have succumbed to COVID-19
during the opening wave of the global
pandemic.
Coronavirus has taught us about the
interdependence of humanity and the
world’s ecology. Distancing practices to
limit coronavirus spread have revealed
the connectedness of humankind and the
importance of interpersonal relationships
to our resilience, outlook, and health. The
invisible, tiny, yet mighty coronavirus has
shown that health system preparedness,
health care workers’ well-being,
interprofessional collaboration, and
ethical and compassionate practices are
essentials, not extravagances, in fighting
an overwhelming health threat. These
lessons of the coronavirus curriculum are
illuminating and profound.
The need to understand coronavirus—its
origins, physiological effects, routes of
transmission, movement across species,
prevention, immunity, and treatment—
has awakened an appreciation for
scientific inquiry. Addressing coronavirus
necessitates rigorous effort in acquiring
new knowledge and adopting evidence-
based clinical and public health practices.
As noted by Anthony S. Fauci1 in our
journal in 2005:
In our battle with microbes, we
have a number of weapons in our
armamentarium. First of all, we have
Acad Med. 2020;95:1123–1124.
doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003500
Academic Medicine, Vol. 95, No. 8 / August 2020
Copyright © by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
an intellect and a will. We use these
to implement public health measures,
biomedical research, and technological
advances. In essence, the human species
uses its intellect and will to contain, or at
least to strike a balance with, microbial
species that rely on genes, replication, and
mutation.
Coronavirus connects scientific discovery
and innovation, ordinarily remote,
arcane notions, to the immediate and
heartfelt concerns of every person
everywhere.
Academic medicine is entrusted with
improving human health, now and
in the future, through leadership and
innovation across the missions of
scientific discovery, education, clinical
care, and community engagement.
The clarion call of coronavirus has
moved us, quickening efforts in basic,
translational, and clinical research;
transforming education experiences
and patient care practices; and fostering
partnering and policymaking, both
locally and globally.
In these early months of the pandemic,
our journal, Academic Medicine, has
received hundreds of manuscripts related
to coronavirus, as its impact has been felt
by members of our academic community.
Our authors have shown concern
and compassion for all whom we in
academic medicine feel responsibility and
connection: our patients, our learners,
our colleagues, our families, ourselves,
and all others with whom we live in this
world. Our authors have told stories
of sacrifice, creativity, flexibility, and
dedication.
In this issue, we have assembled an initial
collection of 6 Invited Commentaries and
4 Letters to the Editor, offering guidance,
reflections, and perspectives drawn from
individuals serving in roles as learners,
frontline clinicians, educators, and senior
leaders. The pieces in this collection
tell important stories of institutional
transformation and response2,3;
the imperative of collaboration,
communication, and resources to support
frontline workers in an academic health
center4; our responsibilities to protect
students from disproportionate risk5
while also honoring our early-career
colleagues’ efforts to help those in need6;
guidance to residents from resident–
peers7; concerns regarding the financial
underpinnings of academic medical
centers8; the invitation to curricular
creativity9,10; and the immense promise
of innovation following coronavirus’s
profound disruptive impact in our
world.11
Many more articles on coronavirus in
the context of academic medicine will
be published in the coming months.
Readers of our journal will learn about
biomedical and population sciences,
educational experiments, health
disparities and social determinants of
health, humanism and ethics, health
system adaptation and financing,
public policy, and digital and telehealth
strategies, among other topics relevant
to the pandemic. Our readers will feel
moved and inspired by the narratives
of learners who responded to the
2020 invitation for trainee-authored
letters on “courage, connection, and
COVID-19.”12
The outpouring of support and
scholarship at this historic moment
is remarkable. The wish to share
experiences, deepening connections with
others during this difficult time, signals
presence, meaning, and a foundation
of generosity and mutualism in the
academic medicine community.
Society’s commitment to a strong health
professions workforce, to biomedical
discovery, to clinical and educational
innovation, and to a national public
health strategy informed by science and
humanistic values has never been greater
or more necessary than at this moment
when COVID-19 threatens the health
of the world. Academic medicine, Dear
Reader, is uniquely positioned to advance
this agenda of vital importance to
humanity. And we will do so together.
Laura Weiss Roberts, MD, MA
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this
editorial do not necessarily reflect the opinions of
the AAMC or its members.
1123
 From the Editor
References
1 Fauci AS. Emerging and reemerging
infectious diseases: The perpetual challenge.
Acad Med. 2005;80:1079–1085.
2 Kim CS, Lynch JB, Cohen S, et al. One
academic health system’s early (and ongoing)
experience responding to COVID-19:
Recommendations from the initial epicenter
of the pandemic in the United States. Acad
Med. 2020;95:1146–1148.
3 Samarasekera DD, Goh DLM, Lau TC.
Medical school approach to manage the
current COVID-19 crisis. Acad Med.
2020;95:1126–1127.
4 Ripp J, Peccoralo L, Charney D. Attending to
the emotional well-being of the health care
workforce in a New York City health system
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Acad Med.
2020;95:1136–1139.
1124
Copyright © by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
5 Menon A, Klein EJ, Kollars K, Kleinhenz
ALW. Medical students are not essential
workers: Examining institutional
responsibility during the COVID-19
pandemic. Acad Med. 2020;95:1149–1151.
6 Cantave M, Perlson J, Lewis C, Byers B.
COVID-19 reveals why we need physician
advocates now. Acad Med. 2020;95:1125.
7 Rakowsky S, Flashner BM, Doolin J, et al.
Five questions for residency leadership in
the time of COVID-19: Reflections of chief
medical residents from an internal medicine
program. Acad Med. 2020;95:1152–1154.
8 Colenda CC, Applegate WB, Reifler BV,
Blazer DG II. COVID-19: Financial stress
test for academic medical centers. Acad Med.
2020;95:1143–1145.
9 Ross DA; National Neuroscience Curriculum
Initiative “Quarantine Curriculum”
Academic Medicine, Vol. 95, No. 8 / August 2020
Committee. Creating a “quarantine
curriculum” to enhance teaching and
learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acad Med. 2020;95:1125–1126.
10 Sam AH, Millar KR, Lupton MGF. Digital
clinical placement for medical students
in response to COVID-19. Acad Med.
2020;95:1126.
11 Woolliscroft JO. Innovation in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Acad Med.
2020;95:1140–1142.
12 Academic Medicine Journal Staff. Call
for Letters to the Editor from trainees:
Courage, connection, and COVID-19. AM
Rounds. http://academicmedicineblog.
org/call-for-letters-to-the-editor-from-
trainees-courage-connection-and-covid-19.
Published April 9, 2020. Accessed May 4,
2020.