The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Learning Outcomes of Medical Students in Taiwan: A Two-Year Prospective Cohort Study of OSCE Performance

Abstract

Background/Aims: To avoid the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical clerkship, supplemental teachings such as digital materials in the scenario-based distal simulations were implemented. This study utilized the OSCE (objective-structured clinical examination) to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the learning outcome of medical students from the regular group (class of 2020) and pandemic-impacted group (class of 2021). Methods: All medical students serially took, firstly, the mock-OSCE, secondly, the mock-OSCE, and the national OSCE. Then, the serial OSCE scores were compared between groups. Results: Although with similar scores in the first mock OSCE, the regular group (n = 78) had a higher average score in the national OSCE than the pandemic-impacted group (n = 80) (872.18 vs. 834.96, p = 0.003). In terms of improvement, the performances of the regular group were also better than the pandemic-impacted group between the second mock OSCE and the national OSCE (79.10 vs. 38.14, p = 0.014), and between the second mock OSCE and the national OSCE (125.11 vs. 77.52, p = 0.003). While separating distinct genres, the regular group had more of a score increment in standardized patient-based stations between the second mock OSCE and the national OSCE (regular vs. pandemic-impacted: 57.03 vs. 18.95, p = 0.003), as well as between the first mock OSCE and the national OSCE (75.97 vs. 26.36, p < 0.001), but there was no significant difference among the skill-based stations. In particular, the scores of the emergency medicine associated station in the national OSCE of the pandemic-impacted group was lower. Conclusions: Our study implies that the pandemic significantly hampered the learning outcomes of final year medical students in their clinical participation. Especially facing the COVID-19 pandemic, more supplemental teachings are needed to compensate the decreasing emergency medicine exposure.

Perception of MBBS and BDS Interns of Chitwan Regarding Their Clinical Posting During Covid-19 Pandemic

“…16 Clinical learning was negatively affected by the pandemic despite online clinical placement implemented to maintain the completeness of clerkship according to a study conducted in Taiwan. 17 However, there are limitations in this study. The first one being the use of purposive sampling along with small sample size, because of which our study is generalizable only to the subpopulation but not on interns working all over the country.…”

Academic, clinical and personal experiences of undergraduate healthcare students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A prospective cohort study

“…Although the focus of university learning centres on the acquisition of theory and knowledge, the development of practical skills is a vital aspect of learning given the nature of their respective healthcare roles. Previous research using OSCE (objective-structured clinical examination) reported the pandemic hampered learning outcomes among final year medical students in their clinical preparation [ 18 ]. Other research has suggested an increased need to counterbalance the lack of clinical experience with virtual or simulated learning [ 19 ].…”

Impact of COVID-19 on medical students` performance in surgical OSCE examination in a German University Hospital: a retrospective analysis before, during and after pandemic

“…In clerkships, students are assigned to various departments, including internal medicine, surgical disciplines, pediatrics and emergency medicine. They acquire clinical knowledge by shadowing and assisting residential physicians in daily practice, primary patient care, bedside procedures, daily record writing and case presentations (11). The pandemic challenged the educational and healthcare system worldwide.…”