title: Avoiding student infection during a Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak: a single medical school experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In outbreaks of infectious disease, medical students are easily overlooked in the management of healthcare personnel protection although they serve in clinical clerkships in hospitals. In the early summer of 2015, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) struck South Korea, and students of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine (SKKUSOM) were at risk of contracting the disease. The purpose of this report is to share SKKUSOM's experience against the MERS outbreak and provide suggestions for medical schools to consider in the face of similar challenges.
  
  
  METHODS
  Through a process of reflection-on-action, we examined SKKUSOM's efforts to avoid student infection during the MERS outbreak and derived a few practical guidelines that medical schools can adopt to ensure student safety in outbreaks of infectious disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The school leadership conducted ongoing risk assessment and developed contingency plans to balance student safety and continuity in medical education. They rearranged the clerkships to another hospital and offered distant lectures and tutorials. Five suggestions are extracted for medical schools to consider in infection outbreaks: instant cessation of clinical clerkships; rational decision making on a school closure; use of information technology; constant communication with hospitals; and open communication with faculty, staff, and students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical schools need to take the initiative and actively seek countermeasures against student infection. It is essential that medical schools keep constant communication with their index hospitals and the involved personnel. In order to assure student learning, medical schools may consider offering distant education with online technology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Won
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5012-8534
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Won
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3053-7138
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yon Ho
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1525-7688
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyung Soo
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3660-5728
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Chan
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1971-8472
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Myung Jin
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6271-3343
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyu-Sung
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0891-2488
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kyunghoon
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0694-2499
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Taehee
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7247-3283
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D003142:Communication; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D020375:Education, Distance; D004501:Education, Medical; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D065207:Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus; D010564:Personnel, Hospital; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012449:Safety; D012577:Schools, Medical; D000070318:Strategic Planning; D013337:Students, Medical; D014495:Universities
keywords: Emerging infectious disease; Medical students; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Risk assessment