Essential Worker Spotlight: Kelly Mulquin

Medical school isn’t an easy task. Especially during a pandemic.

Currently a fourth-year medical student at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Kelly Mulquin has been adapting to a rapidly-changing environment over the past year. As a medical student, Mulquin studies a different medical specialty each month, and most recently is on a rotation in Emergency Medicine. 

“It's been a big adjustment,” she said. “I was pulled off an OBGYN rotation in March and did about four months of virtual electives. It was a big shift going from delivering babies at all hours of the night to trying to learn medicine via online modules and lectures. We returned to the hospitals in the summer and it's been full steam since then.” 

Mulquin mentioned working in the ER and the Intensive Care (ICU) was especially eye-opening. 

“It's one thing to read about the pandemic and how draining it is for providers, family members, and patients. It's another to experience it firsthand,” she said. “It's hectic, challenging, but also very meaningful to care for patients and families on their most vulnerable days.”