Distance Learning and Assessment During the COVID-19 Pandemic—Perspectives of Polish Medical and Healthcare Students

Abstract

The abrupt transition from the traditional model of medical education to online learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented changes in the education of future healthcare professionals. This study aimed to evaluate the opinions of Polish healthcare students on the changes introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and propose recommendations for improvement. Data were collected from June to July 2020 using an online questionnaire. The results demonstrate that students were generally satisfied with the online learning solutions implemented during the pandemic and appreciated their teachers’ efforts. In their opinion, some of the solutions should also be continued after the pandemic. Students noticed positive aspects of online learning: time efficiency, bigger student-friendliness and unlimited attention from teachers, the flexibility of the learning process, better learning conditions for students, and absences due to illness and other random situations. However, they also noticed its disadvantages: problems with the Internet connection and technical aspects, attitudes of teachers, limited interpersonal relations, limited learning of practical skills, health concerns, students’ engagement and distractions at home, and assessment. To conclude, our results indicate some necessary recommendations to improve the quality of further online learning in medical schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The perception of e-learning during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic by students of medical universities in Poland – a survey-based study

“…However, it should be emphasized that students must also have the appropriate connection and equipment. The problems with Internet connections were also often indicated in the studies performed in the UK [5] and Poland [22]. In our study, 16.8% of respondents cited inadequate Internet access as a restriction to the educational process.…”

“…The main restriction for the quality of education process respondents indicated the quality of the content and available materials, the lack of contact with the lecturer, and adequate Internet access. Similar problems were indicated by medical students in another Polish study [22], however, a part of the students considered positive aspects of e-learning as indicating bigger student-friendliness and unlimited attention from teachers [22]. This indicated that lecturers' involvement is a very important part of the quality of e-learning.…”

Potential of Volunteering in Formal and Informal Medical Education—A Theory-Driven Cross-Sectional Study with Example of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…For example, in the United States, the number of job offers for nurses was estimated to be higher than for any other occupation by 2022 [ 25 ]. Though medical universities have implemented online solutions [ 6 ], this education form does not enable students to acquire all the qualifications necessary to practice their profession. At the same time, as mentioned above, we observed that medical universities became strongly involved in the fight against the pandemic at the institutional level, enabling screening, creating temporary hospitals, and organizing volunteer support.…”

“…However, in the case of medical education, online learning may not necessarily be an optimal solution [ 4 , 5 ]. Despite its many advantages, great potential, and the variety of available e-learning tools, the limitations of online learning should also be considered, including difficulties in learning practical skills, limited contact between teachers and students, and the risk of lowering the quality of learning and assessment [ 6 ]. There is also a risk of failing to meet the basic principles of constructive alignment, which assume the need for consistency between learning outcomes and learning activities [ 7 ] as a result of the incorrect implementation of online learning in areas such as practical and clinical reasoning or communication skills learning.…”

Learning Theory-Driven Tips for Designing Effective Learning Solutions for the Continuous Education of Community Pharmacists to Enhance Patient-Centered Care—A Qualitative Study

“…It should be kept in mind that e-learning, despite its many advantages, also has its limitations and may cause some difficulties for instructional designers, for example, in building interactions between course participants. In such a case, to create a space for the exchange of experiences and opinions, it is worth setting up a set of quick contact paths with the use of, for instance, social media or built-in solutions in e-learning platforms (e.g., a forum) [ 64 ]. Participants should be given a chance to implement the solutions in practice and encouraged to share their thoughts with the facilitators and other participants.…”