The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has significantly influenced the normal operations of all human affairs on a global scale. Indeed, the pandemic has had a considerable impact on the delivery of medical education in the UK for both pre-clinical and clinical year students. In response to the escalating case fatality rate due to the pandemic, there has been widespread termination of clinical placements, face-to-face teaching sessions, and examinations that require a physical presence by UK medical schools. It is hoped that the cancellation of the aforementioned activities will greatly reduce the exposure of medical students to the coronavirus however, the consequences of these actions may pose substantial issues for the learning experience and professional development of medical students. One such issue is the lack of regular communication between students and personal tutors which may give rise to burnout within students and impede academic performance. Furthermore, the suspension of clinical placements may result in a gradual reduction in students’ clinical skills competence. The practice of medicine is grounded upon the application of basic science which involves undertaking clinical procedures and as such, students may be at a disadvantage due to the missed opportunity to refine these essential skills. In this article, we provide an overview of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education, specifically regarding curriculum delivery and assessment of students. We also adopt a holistic approach by considering the impact of the pandemic on the mental wellbeing of medical students during this unprecedented time. We offer pragmatic suggestions to uphold the quality of medical education such as the implementation of virtual interprofessional education sessions to solve clinical vignettes and virtual consultation skills with simulated patients. We conclude with suggested areas for future research to examine the effectiveness of a virtual interprofessional education model on both short and long-term learning as well as encouraging medical students and academic staff to trial innovative methods of teaching. Despite the resultant complications of the pandemic on medical education, these challenging times may present a serendipitous opportunity for medical students to cultivate the personal attributes expected of a doctor in the face of adversity. In light of the pandemic, there is scope to reconsider the effectiveness of current medical education and welcome innovative methods of delivering education whilst ensuring quality. The combination of recent telecommunication developments with current teaching methodologies may positively change the future landscape of medical education.

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The cross-sectional study by Shelton et al. explored a wide variety of factors that influence medical students' interest in a career in surgery, with a focus on examining the significance of early exposure to surgery on medical students [1]. The authors concluded that early exposure to surgical activities may foster interest in students. This letter aims to discuss several alternative factors, from our perspective as medical students with aspirations to pursue surgery, that may negate the conclusion reached by the authors and outline strategies that may enhance medical students' interest in a surgical specialty.Early exposure to surgery either in theatre or through surgical workshops may not be the universal limiting factor in medical students' decision to pursue surgery. It is important to note that the duration of surgical training in some countries is far longer than that of the USA. For example, the cumulative postgraduate time to complete surgical training is 10 years in the UK compared to 5-7 years in the USA [2,3]. This significantly longer duration of training as well as the direct financial and opportunity costs of training is likely to supersede the effect of early exposure to surgery as medical students may endeavour to fulfil personal, extra-professional goals. Irrespective of the degree of early exposure to surgery, as medical students progress in their training, personal aspirations and circumstance may outweigh their interest in