Impacts and challenges of United States medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Rolak, Stacey; Keefe, Alexis M.; Davidson, Emily L; Aryal, Prabesh; Parajuli, Sandesh

doi:10.12998/wjcc.v8.i15.3136

Cited by 34 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…On 17 March 2020, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) proposed that medical students’ clinical rotations be postponed, to limit their direct patient contact in response to the COVID-19 pandemic [ 14 , 15 ]. Medical schools had to rapidly modify their curricula to incorporate alternative teaching methods for in-person didactic lessons in the preclinical years, as well as in face-to-face in healthcare settings clinical clerkships, where direct contact with patients was no longer allowed [ 16 , 17 ]. With social distancing standards and guidelines in place, technologies such as telemedicine/telehealth as a platform for interim medical education became one alternative to the traditional forms of medical education for training future physicians [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Medical schools had to rapidly modify their curricula to incorporate alternative teaching methods for in-person didactic lessons in the preclinical years, as well as in face-to-face in healthcare settings clinical clerkships, where direct contact with patients was no longer allowed [ 16 , 17 ]. With social distancing standards and guidelines in place, technologies such as telemedicine/telehealth as a platform for interim medical education became one alternative to the traditional forms of medical education for training future physicians [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Medical students who were entering their fourth and final year of medical school were mostly impacted by these new regulations and they were thrusted into the world of remote learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Medical Education during the Last Year of Medical School: A Class Survey

Franklin

Martin²,

Ruszaj³

et al. 2021

Life

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The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the medical education platform for students in the United States of America (USA). In that light, medical schools had to rapidly rearrange the dynamics of their educational curricula from the traditional platforms, to incorporate telemedicine. The telemedicine platform is supported in many specialties, allowing students various options to continue their education without interruption during the COVID-19 pandemic, and beyond. Telemedicine platforms are projected to grow exponentially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing a segue for medical schools to modify their curricula by incorporating telemedicine programs. These distant-, e-learning (tele-education) programs align with the recommendations and guidelines for practicing social distancing. In this article, we surveyed fourth-year medical students to better understand their views on multiple aspects of e-learning, and its impact on their medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed the medical students’ experiences, satisfaction, insight and knowledge with e-learning, tele-education, telehealth, and their related modalities during COVID-19. We provide an organized overview and analysis of the main factors that influence medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic, while bringing forth the main challenges, limitations, and emerging approaches in the field of telemedicine and its application as it relates to medical education and e-learning across medical specialties. We outline the main themes and ideas that the medical students voiced, as to how their medical education is being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how they will incorporate telemedicine and tele-education in their future career. A cross-sectional, mixed-method survey was developed and distributed via Google Surveys to 181 University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, United States of America, 4th year medical students, in December 2020. Results were compiled and analyzed after a 6-day open period for responses to be submitted. The survey instrument consisted of questions that inquire about the students’ perspectives as it relates to their rapid switch from their traditional method of learning to the on-line version of medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 65 students responded to the survey, of which 63 completed the survey. More than half of the students (n = 63, 57%) indicated that both their specialty of interest, and (n = 21, 33%) their sub-internships were impacted by the temporary lockdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students also indicated that the top three specialties that were affected included surgery, internal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. When the students were asked if they were satisfied with the use of aquifer for their health care e-learning, only 35% of the students were satisfied. The students expressed that the school’s administration team did a good job in developing the new tele-education curriculum for those in clinical training. In addition, responses indicated that students were open to case-based video learning and readings, when combined with the abbreviated clinical exposure during the make-up “clinical immersions periods” allowed for adequate learning. Overall, the survey responses show that more than half, approximately 54% of the medical students utilized telemedicine platforms during their clerkships that were impacted by COVID-19. The 4th-year medical students did not find tele-education and e-learning to be as effective as traditional medical education that combines in-person didactic classroom instructions and in-person face-to-face in hospital clerkships. Students felt that the telemedicine program that was rapidly set up due to the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’ was fragmented, since it was not a formal integration of a telemedicine E-learning program. Students would have preferred more ‘real’ cases to follow, instead of the ready-made, aquifer type of cases. Telemedicine has significant potential to address many of the challenges facing the medical education environment today. We believe now that people have become comfortable with this method of teaching, that even after the pandemic ends, we will continue to see tele-education used as a platform for medical education.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Medical Education during the Last Year of Medical School: A Class Survey

Franklin

Martin²,

Ruszaj³

et al. 2021

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The disruption of learning activities has particularly impacted graduate medical education, an academic field where practical skill acquisition and collaborative training experiences become central [3][4][5]. While clinical clerkships constitute the primary learning format in the final phase of the undergraduate medical curriculum, face-to-face modalities are essential to acquire basic knowledge and competences at initial stages.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19: making the best out of a forced transition to online medical teaching. A mixed methods study

Virumbrales

Elorduy

Graell

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Introductionthe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decreed confinement in our country from March until the end of term in June 2020. This forced a transition exclusively to distance learning. The aim of this study was to broaden the understanding of fully online distance learning from the experiences of undergraduate medical students and faculty members during confinement, and identify its key elements.MethodsA convergent mixed methods study analyzing: (a) an online teaching follow- up program, (b) two focus groups and a nominal group with students and faculty, respectively, and (c) a survey with students from 1st to 5th year.ResultsThirteen strongly interconnected categories were identified. Four played an organizational role: course planning, coordination, communication and pedagogical coherence. The remaining nine categories were: learning outcomes, teaching methodology, online resources, evaluation, time management, workload, student motivation, participation, and teacher-student relationship. Among the key aspects of learning were those that promoted rapport between faculty and students, such as synchronous sessions, especially those based on clinical cases.Conclusionthe experiences from confinement allowed us to gain insight into some of the key aspects of online medical teaching. Promoting student motivation and participation at all levels was essential to distance learning in Medicine.

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“…As Covid-19 was classi ed as a global pandemic in March 2020, medical student clinical placements were paused to allow providers to focus exclusively on care delivery and to reduce transmission of infection (1). Innovative online and technology-enhanced learning and assessments were rapidly trialled and implemented across the undergraduate medical education sector (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Qualitative Exploration of Medical Student Experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications for Medical Education

Nolan

Owen

2021

Preprint

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Background During the Covid-19 pandemic medical students were offered paid roles as medical student healthcare assistants. Anecdotal reports suggested that students found this experience rich for learning. Previous studies have explored alternative models of student service, however this defined medical student support role is novel.Methods Individual semi-structured interviews were recorded with 20 medical students at a UK medical school exploring their experiences of placement learning and experiences of working as healthcare assistants. Responses were analysed qualitatively using a framework approach. The framework was developed into a model describing key findings and their relationships.Results Interviews yielded data that broadly covered aspects of 1. Medical students’ experiences of clinical placement learning 2. Medical students’ experiences of working as medical student healthcare assistants 3. Learning resulting from working as a healthcare assistant 4. Hierarchies and professional barriers in the clinical environment 5. Influences on professional identity. Participants described barriers and facilitators of clinical learning and how assuming a healthcare assistant role impacted on learning and socialisation within the multidisciplinary team. Students became increasingly socialised within the healthcare team, contributing directly to patient care; the resulting social capital opened new opportunities for learning, team working and enhanced students’ interprofessional identity. Students described the impact of these experiences on their aspirations for their future practice.Conclusion Changes to work patterns in healthcare and delivery models of medical education have eroded opportunities for students to contribute to healthcare delivery and be embedded within a team. This is impacting negatively on student learning and socialisation and we suggest that medical curricula have much to learn from nursing and allied health professional training. Longitudinal embedment with a multidisciplinary team, where students have a defined role and work directly with patients may not only add value to clinical service, but also overcome current barriers to effective placement learning and interprofessional identity formation for medical students.

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Impacts and challenges of United States medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 34 publications

References 11 publications

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Medical Education during the Last Year of Medical School: A Class Survey

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Medical Education during the Last Year of Medical School: A Class Survey

COVID-19: making the best out of a forced transition to online medical teaching. A mixed methods study

Qualitative Exploration of Medical Student Experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications for Medical Education

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