Social network dynamics throughout clinical training-Distance matters.

Editor—Social network changes constitute a pivotal influence on both academic success and emotional well‐being for medical students throughout the various stages of training. Medical students particularly benefit from social support derived from healthcare professionals, fellow students, and mentors during the demanding transition to clinical training. Atherley et al, in fact, have suggested that students adapt to the introduction of clinical clerkship by deliberately modulating relationships based on whether they provide instrumental or emotional support. Their findings lead us to reflect on the need to consciously enable such network evolution for certain subgroups of students given the potential for socioeconomic variables to restrict adaptation and, hence, negatively impact academic success.

Increasing financial strain on families has driven a rise in students, particularly those from under‐represented minority backgrounds, choosing to commute to university from their family home. Contrary to Atherley et al’s findings, commuting students have been shown to maintain stronger familial and local relationships, rather than transitioning their social networks when shifting to clinical training. Commuting also has been associated with increasing stress levels amongst medical students, further hindering the establishment of new social relationships with clinical peers during this critical stage of training.

While strong long‐term relationships undoubtedly bring many benefits, family commitments and distance from medical campus can negatively impact attendance, and consequently, academic success. Given Atherley et al’s study, we now must realise that living at home during the transition to clinical clerkship can impede the development of new instrumental relationships and emotional supports, thereby amplifying the risk of decreased academic performance.

We believe these findings make it imperative that medical training programmes should aim to better integrate commuting students when they transition to clinical clerkship. This would increase the likelihood that they will become better doctors through the provision of supports other students are able to find more naturally. As the COVID‐19 pandemic has driven a surge in virtual teaching for all, we believe these considerations are becoming increasingly relevant as a further decrease in in‐person interaction with clinical mentors may widen any pre‐existing inequality in social network dynamics amongst medical trainees.