Though there has been growing attention to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the career trajectories of current health care workers, research remains sparse on how those in earlier stages of medical education have been affected by the pandemic. To better understand the pandemic's influence on pre-medical students' professional trajectories, this study draws on 48 interviews with freshmen and sophomore pre-medical students at a private university in the northeastern United States. For many students, witnessing physicians' role during the pandemic made them more aware of both the vulnerability of physicians and the limits of their power in the medical field and society at large. Notably, students primarily explained the risks that physicians confronted as an individual professional expectation rather than a structural concern in the medical system. Despite acknowledging these risks, students emphasized that the pandemic had reinforced their interest in becoming a physician by validating their perception of the vital role that physicians play in society. Additionally, they expressed greater concern about meeting expectations for admission to medical school in light of additional barriers due to COVID-19. This study builds upon existing literature on the medical profession by both centering earlier stages of education and examining processes of socialization during times of crisis. More broadly, these findings indicate a need for greater attention to the normalization of health care workers' sacrifices, as well as the potential exacerbation of existing inequities in pre-medical education during the pandemic.

尽管人们越来越关注冠状病毒大流行对当前医护人员职业轨迹的影响，但关于那些处于早期医学教育阶段的人如何受到大流行影响的研究仍然很少。为了更好地了解大流行对医学预科学生职业轨迹的影响，本研究对美国东北部一所私立大学的 48 名新生和大二医学预科学生进行了访谈。对于许多学生来说，目睹医生在大流行期间的作用使他们更加意识到医生的脆弱性以及他们在医学领域和整个社会中的权力的局限性。尤其，学生主要将医生面临的风险解释为个人职业期望，而不是医疗系统中的结构性问题。尽管承认存在这些风险，但学生们强调，通过验证他们对医生在社会中发挥的重要作用的看法，这种流行病增强了他们成为医生的兴趣。此外，鉴于 COVID-19 造成的额外障碍，他们更担心能否达到入学医学院的期望。本研究以现有的医学专业文献为基础，既关注早期教育阶段，又研究危机时期的社会化过程。更广泛地说，这些发现表明需要更多地关注医护人员牺牲的正常化，