Transition in learning approach for undergraduate medical students of Bangladesh in Covid 19 pandemic: A situation analysis

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic has fundamentally transformed the landscape of medical education system upside down worldwide. And this unanticipated transition of medical education without any pre build infrastructure has made this altered prospect more challenging in Bangladesh. Though many countries across the world utilize web based learning along with traditional approach, but medical students of Bangladesh are mostly unfamiliar and unaccustomed with this newly imposed online learning avenue. Therefore, this study has evaluated the familiarity, usage, attitude of students towards online class and figured out the barriers witnessed by students in web based learning in Bangladesh prospect. Methods: This cross sectional, questionnaire based study was conducted in medical colleges across Bangladesh. A questionnaire linked to google form were distributed to undergraduate medical students all over Bangladesh through different social platforms. Students who showed interest, filled up the questionnaire with consent and submitted voluntarily. Those answered questionnaires were automatically stored in Google drive in a specific email ID. After completion of data collection, all data were transferred in a spread sheet and statistical analysis was done. Results: A total of 1709 students participated in this study willingly from around Bangladesh. Among the respondents 45.1% were satisfied with online class. Though most of the students (45.8%) think online class in medical education is not effective like traditional lectures but many of them (47.4%) agrees to the point that online class should have complementary role in medical education. One of the strong attitude of medical students regarding web based learning revealed in this study that, most of them undoubtedly in unison (49.5% disagree, 30.3% strongly disagree) with that web based learning can never replace traditional lecture class in medical education. 77.2% students responded that web based learning is interactive. 54.9% students pointed out that they experienced interrupted internet connections with low internet speed during class time which is a barrier to WBL. 83.2% of the respondents complained about facing audio visual problem during online class which is attributed to the poor network connectivity. Most students in Bangladesh (74.8%) found online classes costly and 53.8% of the students needed technical supports for continued online class. Conclusion: This study finding can suggest a potential reform for medical education system of Bangladesh addressing the obstacles and expectations of students which can execute a fruitful web based learning in Bangladesh.