By: Michael Ainbinder
First Year Doctor of Physical Therapy Student
I’m nervous and worried. Covid-19 as brought upon many unknowns for all persons across all countries due to the fact that there is no timeline, no perfect plan and no concrete answers. We are unsure about what life could look like today, tomorrow and into the future.
Being a student during these times can bring upon some advantages as well as disadvantages. I would like to share my outlook, as I am a first year Doctor of Physical Therapy student.
As most students are either learning fully in a virtual setting, on-campus or in some type of hybrid model of both, some of the advantages can be lost the shuffle. Minimized travel time, to and from campus and the classroom, allows students to have more time to complete tasks, plan their day and enjoy activities they love around their virtual class times. In addition, if your class involves an asynchronized structure then you have much more control of how you consume the course material. You can watch lectures at any time of the day, pause lectures to better understand a challenging topic and skim through parts that you feel confident. You are in more control of your learning.
The disadvantages can be the first thoughts many have during these unique times. I personally had many as I began my studies within my DPT program. How am I going to connect with my classmates/cohort? How am I going to learn how to properly assess a patient? How am I going to support and impact my community during this time? Other common feelings that I feel students might have are, what if I have a certain learning style and virtual isn’t conducive to my success? How can I best keep myself motivated with so much unknown? These disadvantages are valid and understandable. It is healthy to listen to those feelings and best approach your learning environment with them in mind. Outside of the resources provided below, communicating with your faculty and program is a great first step as they might specific ideas or plans in place best provide you the best experience.
Before I provide some student-focused resources to better answer some of the questions above, I want to emphasize that there is no right or wrong way to approach being a student during this pandemic. What works for you, might not work for me or another classmate. Finding what keeps you motivated, engaged and most importantly as happy as possible during these times is great! We all are figuring this out in real time.
Please see a few resources and articles that can help students:
This article is directly slightly more toward college not grad students, but many skills discussed are transferable:
https://grownandflown.com/college-student-distance-learning-covid-19/