A Medical Student’s Daily Life during the Pandemic

At 8:30 am in the morning, Li Mengyi, an undergraduate majoring in clinical medicine at the Medical College of Tianjin University, turned on her computer and logged into VooV Meeting, starting a new day of study.

“Now I have been used to online classes.” said Li. She has become more adept when signing in, answering questions and having group discussions online.

The first class this morning was pathogen biology from Associate Prof. Zheng Bin. To improve students’ motivation, Prof. Zheng elaborately designed many online interactive activities, such as, adding more videos to his slides, and randomly asking questions. He also encouraged students, especially introverted ones, to actively participate in the class through the bullet comments, and helped students memorize difficult knowledge through rhymes.

“Thanks to teachers’ careful preparation, we could have these high-quality online courses. Teachers are facing greater pressure to arrange every teaching link, including preparations before class, sincere communication in class and the design and feedback of every homework after class, so we should take each class seriously.” said Li, “Online teaching makes us physically distant from teachers, but mentally closer to them through more communication. They often share some practical learning methods and resources in class groups, and care about our learning status and campus life.”

At noon, Li went to the canteen. The various dishes, warming greetings from staff and hot meals in the canteen filled her with happiness. Every seat in the canteen has been equipped with transparent acrylic table partitions with hooks for teachers and students eating there to hang their masks, which makes those choosing to eat alone feel more secure. She chose to take away her food and go back to eat.

Li walked back to the dormitory through the hallway that smells faintly ofdisinfection. Alcohol spray and hand sanitizer have become regular supplies in Li's dormitory as they are paying more attention to epidemic prevention.

Li likes to go to the study room in the building of the Medical College (Liu Ruiheng Building) to finish some work. Sometimes, she will do experiments with senior students, or go to the library to revise her papers.

Like many other students, Li is struggling to keep her weight off after a long winter holiday without exercise. The tender buds on the playground are bursting out, and the young are sweating with their pace. During the Crabapple Blossom Festival, the crabapple trees on both sides of the road outside the stadium are in bloom.

Though wearing masks and keeping a safe distance at all times, people are mentally closer. Instead of being busy with activities and classes every day, Li and her classmates are spending more time getting along with each other. The neighboring dormitories are also getting familiar and often have fun together. They study in the dormitory during the day; they watch TV and play ukulele to let the soothing music flow in the evenings.

By Deng Xingyue

Editor: Sun Xiaofang