Involvement of Medical Students During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affects the education of medical students around the world and countries have had differing responses in dealing with this dynamic situation. The role of medical students in fighting this pandemic is controversial and it is yet to be elucidated how they can best be of service. The aim of this study is to evaluate the working fields of volunteering students and the impact of the pandemic on final year students from a student's perspective. Methods: An anonymous online survey was conducted amongst 219 medical students from Hamburg (Germany), using an institutional online data collection program. Results: A total of 137 questionnaires (63.5%) were completed. Of these, 97 participants were students from academic year three to five (70.8%) and 40 students were in the final year of medical school (29.2%). Of the 97 students from academic year three to five, 68 students (70.1%) signed up for voluntary duties during the pandemic. Interestingly, only 25.0% of the students were called for voluntary work in hospitals or health authorities. Final year students had already been working in hospitals since before the outbreak, with 35.0% of them assisting doctors in the treatment of COVID-19 positive patients during their placements. Using a 5-Point Likert Scale, the students who volunteered self-assessed their work as more useful and received more gratitude than final year students (p<0.01). Conclusions: The majority of medical students are willing to make a significant contribution in the response to COVID-19 and do not wish to be overlooked. Furthermore, the current pandemic offers novel educational opportunities for medical students.

Willingness to volunteer and readiness to practice of undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey in Indonesia

“…However, this was not accompanied by a proportional number of participants with adequate readiness to practice, indicating that further preparations are required to ensure that they are equipped with sufficient knowledge and aptitude [ 9 ]. This is in accordance to the findings of previous studies in Ireland [ 24 ] and Germany [ 5 ] which reported high rates of willingness to volunteer among medical students [ 5 , 24 ] with relatively low rates of readiness to practice [ 24 ].…”

“…In fact, several studies had consistently reported that medical students were concerned about approaching patients infected with unknown diseases. In such cases, it may be plausible to focus the allocation of these volunteering students to activities relating to early levels of prevention with minimum risk of exposure, including health education and promotion, contact tracing and triages, as well as peer supports for isolating patients and HCWs [ 5 , 36 , 37 ]. Contrarily, volunteering opportunity in clinical settings should be strictly limited to clinical-year students, provided that they are well-prepared and protected [ 32 ].…”

“…Although it is true that the current pandemic may hinder the implementation of conventional medical education, this pandemic also carries an enormous learning opportunity, especially for final-year medical students, as proven by several institutions which had managed to successfully integrate their students to directly partake in pandemic responses [ 5 , 32 ]. These students may take part in contact tracing, triage, diagnostic swab-testing, and even medical care support, which in turn may provide invaluable experience in collaborative patient care and benefit their career as future physicians [ 5 , 37 ].…”

“…The role of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic remains contentious as their participation varies across countries. While some countries integrated their education into COVID-19 response systems, other countries specifically enforce policies to limit medical students’ involvement in medical practices [ 5 ]. In Indonesia, several student-led organizations have actively participated in the pandemic response by steering fundraising campaigns and providing continuing supports to HCWs.…”

Like Soldiers on the Front – A Qualitative Study Understanding the Frontline Healthcare Professionals’ Experience of Treating and Caring for Patients With&nbsp;COVID-19

“…These HCPs have to do this job under new working conditions, both due to the physical work environment in newly created COVID-19 departments as well as professionally depending on their previous knowledge, skills and experiences. While research has described how HCPs during the rst phase of the COVID-19 pandemic approached their obligations with a stoic and altruistic orientation towards their work (15), others have reported how questions of who will step up to the plate in this ongoing crisis arise (16).…”