Implementation of Online Teaching in Medical Education: Lessons Learned from Students’ Perspectives during the Health Crisis in Marrakesh, Morocco

Abstract

Background. On the announcement of the COVID-19 health emergency, the Marrakesh School of Medicine accelerated the digitization and the establishment of courses available to students through the faculty platform. We aimed to describe the students’ perspectives toward the online educational approach implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate the factors that might affect the implementation of online teaching in the future. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study among medical students in Marrakesh during June-July 2020. Data collection was based on a self-administered electronic questionnaire distributed via the student platform. We studied the knowledge and previous practices of virtual technologies and students’ appreciation of distance learning during the lockdown. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using SPSS16.0 software. Results. A total of 111 students participated. The female-to-male sex ratio was 2.2 with an average age of 20.6 ± 1.8. The majority of students felt that they had a good knowledge of virtual technologies (on a scale of 1 to 10, 81% ≥ 5/10), and two-thirds reported using them in medical studies. Before the COVID-19 lockdown, 16.2% of the students used the platform and 39.6% did not attend in-person courses (16.0% in 1st cycle versus 49.2% in 2nd cycle, p = 0.01 ). During the pandemic, 79% of the students appreciated the virtual learning (54.0% in 1st cycle versus 89.0% in 2nd cycle, p < 0.001 ) and 80.2% thought that the online courses were understandable. Regarding to student’s preferences, 41.4% preferred blended education and 68.5% of the students would recommend continuing distance learning after the pandemic. Regarding satisfaction, previous use of the educational platform (OR = 66.3, CI 95% [1.9; 2.2 ∗ 103]), improvement of learning during distance learning (OR = 22.6, IC 95% [4.1, 123.7]), and professor support (OR = 7, IC95% [1.3, 38]) seemed to be the most powerful factors in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion. Our results will contribute to the implementation of actions by taking advantage of the experience during the health crisis. The institutionalization of virtual learning with more interaction in addition to the in-person courses is the main recommendation of this study.

A Literature Review of Barriers and Opportunities Presented by Digitally Enhanced Practical Skill Teaching and Learning in Health Science Education

“…Ensuring accessibility and equity of digitally enhanced education has been identified as a significant challenge [ 26 ]. There are socioeconomic and environmental factors that reduce accessibility to online learning [ 27 ], such as unsuitable home environments [ 28 ], the financial demand on students to have essential learning equipment [ 6 , 29 , 30 ] and poor internet access [ 28 , 29 ].…”

“…A common barrier to learning reported by staff and students was educators’ lack of confidence, familiarity, and experience with digitally enhanced teaching methods [ 27 ]. This can result in low-quality design and delivery of learning materials, hindering student interaction, engagement, and overall learning.…”

“…Technological and logistical problems are proclaimed as a barrier to online learning throughout the academic literature. These issues include periodic unavailability of e-learning platforms [ 27 ], internet connectivity issues resulting in video buffering [ 38 ] and broken web links to resources [ 35 ]. When practicing communication and assessment skills with patients through video, an unstable internet connection can disrupt flow and rapport building [ 36 ].…”

“…Some students reported improved psychosocial health when learning remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic [ 27 ]. Balancing class time with clinical training pre-pandemic was described by students as negatively impacting concentration for theoretical learning [ 27 ].…”

Paradigm shift in teaching-learning from classroom to virtual mode – Challenges and opportunities

“…2 Findings on implementation of online teaching in medical education carried in Marrakesh, Morocco recommend institutionalization of virtual learning with more interaction in addition to the in-person courses. 3 A similar cross-sectional survey was carried out on medical students across 13 medical schools in Libya where they found only 21.1% agreed that e-learning could be used for clinical aspects, as compared with 54.8% who disagreed with this statement and 24% who were neutral and the need of virtual clinical experience to be followed by hands-on experience. 4 Compentency based Medical Education emphasizes on patient centered teaching methodology and also focuses on enhancing communication skills of medical undergraduates in process of creation of trained health manpower of the country.…”