Dear Warren Alpert Medical Students,

For the past several months, multiple working groups at Brown have been exploring a range of options for safely providing teaching and learning for students this fall. This planning has been guided by advice from medical and public health professionals and informed by guidelines coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). The focus at all times has been how we can best protect the health of our students, employees and Providence residents, while delivering Brown’s world-class education.

For the Medical School, we have worked with Deans Allan Tunkel, Paul George, and Roxanne Vrees to plan for the distinct needs of medical students. The academic calendar will not change significantly for medical students and will continue to follow a two-semester system. In fact, third- and fourth-year medical students have already begun their clinical rotations.

To accommodate physical distancing guidelines, modifications will be made to the delivery of curriculum, such as limiting the number of students in classrooms. In clinical settings, students will have appropriate personal protective equipment. We will work with international students to develop academic plans for degree completion that are in compliance with federal guidelines. For all medical students, the goal is to continue to provide an innovative, evidence-based curriculum that creates an optimal educational experience. You will receive additional communications from the Medical School regarding the details of this plan.

I encourage you to read Brown’s “Plan for a Healthy and Safe 2020-21.” While much of this document applies to the undergraduate and graduate experience, it includes information on configuring medical education during the ongoing pandemic, as well as health protocols that are essential for safeguarding the well-being of our entire community. The plan outlines the public health steps that are being put in place to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic across the University.

Even with these public health steps, we all know well that it is impossible to ensure that no one in our community will become ill with COVID-19 during the coming academic year. Our plan is based upon the forthright acknowledgement that any college, university or community will likely see diagnosed cases of COVID-19 until the point when a vaccine is widely available.

As you well know, this pandemic is constantly evolving. I am asking everyone in our community to approach this year understanding that we may need to make mid-course changes or adjustments to how instruction is offered, buildings are used, and public health protocols are implemented. As always, we will approach any changes with a commitment to community principles that place a premium on the health and well-being of our students.

Testing and Contact Tracing

Recognizing that the Medical School maintains separate protocols for testing medical students, it may be beneficial to be aware of the testing and tracing protocols being put in place across the University for the sake of your engagement with other members of the campus community. As we plan for the fall, members of the community working on campus will be required to be tested for COVID-19 when they return to Brown and, if asked, to participate in random testing. This randomized sample testing will help monitor for community spread of coronavirus, identify the proportion of asymptomatic positive cases and identify the proportion of members of our community with potential immunity to the disease over time. All of this testing will be free of charge.

In the event that someone in our community tests positive, the University has trained contact tracers who will work with RIDOH to locate people who may have been exposed to COVID-19. Students should be prepared to isolate where they live if they test positive, or quarantine if they have been exposed, in compliance with state health guidelines. Brown’s plans have been informed by epidemiological models, and the University will closely monitor evolving developments in testing methods to take advantage of the most effective testing strategies.

Campus Public Health Practices

Large group gatherings will be limited — meeting and at times exceeding state guidelines limiting such gatherings — and activities that require travel to other locations will be restricted. Activities and events will be shaped by reduced capacity of spaces, social distancing, hand washing, wearing masks and other health protocols. And cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces will become part of daily routines.

Of course, we hope that we can return to the more traditional daily life at Brown as soon as possible, as treatments and, eventually, a vaccine for coronavirus are developed. However, despite the differences imposed by the pandemic, I am confident that the elements that contribute to the value of a Brown medical education will continue unaffected — the close connections with faculty, vigorous class discussions, collaboration with colleagues, and engagement with students whose life experiences differ from your own.

Major Events

Among the common questions we have received is whether Brown has made a decision about the date for graduation ceremonies. We expect to hold Commencement and Reunion Weekend from April 30 to May 2, 2021, following the end of the spring term. This planning assumes that public health conditions will allow large events to safely take place, and dates could shift if public health guidance prompts changes to Brown’s academic calendar.

Conferences, lectures, performances and other events will continue to be subject to policies for distancing, with expectations that they be held remotely. Each and every member of our community will be expected to follow all public health protocols and take responsibility for their own health and the health of others.

I want to thank you for the sacrifices you are making to enter the field of medicine at a time when your compassion, intellect and dedication are so desperately needed by our nation.

Sincerely,

Christina H. Paxson