DISTANCE EDUCATION IN MEDICAL SCHOOLS: THE EXPERIENCE AND OPINIONS OF ACADEMICIANS AND STUDENTS

Year 2020, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 115 - 129, 31.10.2020

Hilal Sena Çifcibaşı , Berkay Kef Irmak İrem Özyiğit , Sezin Sayın , Aslı Göztepe Selis Gülseven Güven Serkan Atıcı

Abstract

Aims: This study aims to identify the thoughts and opinions of medical schools’ students and academicians about the distance medical education and examination system that has been rapidly applied during the COVID-19 pandemic Methods: A ques- tionnaire was prepared via Google Forms which consisted of a total of 3 sections. Informed consent was obtained in the first section and participants were directed to “student” or “academician” section. There were 28 questions for the students and 24 questions for the academicians. Categorical variables were demonstrated as numbers and percentages, whereas continuous variables were presented as minimum, maximum, and mean values. Chi-squared test was used to compare preclinic and clinic year students, and the academicians in preclinic, medical, and surgical fields. Results: A total of 321 participants completed the questionnaire. The mean participant ages were 21.4 years and 41.68 years for the students and the academicians, respectively. Only 30% of the students thought the distance education lessons were beneficial while it was 35.5% for the academicians. 25.8% of the academicians and 29.6% of the students were indecisive on the matter. When the examination process was taken into account 67.7% of the academicians and 56.9% of the students thought the online examinations were not reliable. Conclusion: It is predicted that the pandemic process will continue in the next academic years. Considering the current situation, distance education seems to be the best option to ensure that the learning process can continue while protecting the health of students and academicians. Although distance education is not sufficient by itself in medical education during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a method that should be used in almost every field of medical education, especially in the preclinical phase. Both the distance education, and online examination process require improvements and they are needed to be supported with face to face lectures and practices.

Keywords

COVID-19, academician, medical student, distance learning, pandemic

References

• 1. Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A et al. Features, evaluation, and treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19). In: StatPearls (serial online) 2020 Oct (cited 2020 October 4). Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020. Available from: URL:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/books/NBK554776/.
• 2. Thu TPB, Ngoc PNH, Hai NM et al. Effect of social distancing measures on the spread of COVID-19 in 10 highly infected coun- tries. Sci Total Environ 2020;742:140430.
• 3. Demirbilek Y, Pehlivantürk G, Özgüler ZÖ et al. COVID-19 out- break control, example of ministry of health of Turkey. Turk J Med Sci 2020;50:489-94.
• 4. Ferrel MN, Ryan JJ. The impact of COVID-19 on medical educa- tion. Cureus 2020;12:7492.
• 5. Chick RC, Clifton GT, Peace KM et al. Using technology to main- tain the education of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. J Surg Educ 2020;77:729-32.
• 6. Singh K, Srivastav S, Bhardwaj A et al. Medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic: a single institution experience. Indian Pediatr 2020;57:678-9.
• 7. Calhaun KH, Yale LA, Whipple M et al. The impact of COVID-19 on medical student surgical education: Implementing extreme pan- demic response measures in a widely distributed surgical clerkship experience. Am J Surg 2020;220(1):44-7.
• 8. Rajab MH, Gazal AM, Alkattan K. Challenges to online medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cureus 2020;12(7):e8966.
• 9. Radanliev P, Roure DD, Walton R et al. COVID-19 what have we learned? The rise of social machines and connected devices in pan- demic management following the concepts of predictive, preventive and personalized medicine. EPMA J 2020;11(3):311-32.
• 10. Srinivasan DK. Medical students' perceptions and an anatomy teacher's personal experience using an e-learning platform for tuto- rials during the COVID-19 crisis. Anat Sci Educ 2020;13(3):318-9.
• 11. Rose S. Medical student education in the time of COVID-19. JAMA 2020;323(21):2131-2.
• 12. Ozer MA, Govsa F, Bati AH. Web-based teaching video packag- es on anatomical education. Surg Radiol Anat 2017;39(11):1253-61.
• 13. Ruiz JG, Mintzer MJ, Leipzig RM. The impact of e-learning in medical education. Academic Medicine 2006;81(3):207-12.
• 14. Coulehan J, Williams P. Vanquishing virtue: The impact of med- ical education. Academic Medicine 2001;76(6):598-605.
• 15. Stowell JR, Bennett D. Effects of online testing on student exam performance and test anxiety. Journal of Educational Computing Research 2010;42(2):161-71.
• 16. Buckley J, Canty D, Seery N. The validity and reliability of on- line testing for the assessment of spatial ability. ASEE Conference Oct 2016.
• 17. Harmon O, Lambrinos J. Are online exams an invitation to cheat? The Journal of Economic Education 2008;39(2):116-25.
• 18. Jena RK, Mahanti K. An empirical study of technostress among Indian academicians. International Journal of Education and Learning 2014;3(2):1-10.
• 19. Kang C, Yang S, Yuan J et al. Patients with chronic illness ur- gently need integrated physical and psychological care during the COVID-19 outbreak. Asian Journal of Psychiatry 2020;51(6): 102081.
• 20. Sanyaolu A, Okorie C, Marinkovic A et al. Comorbidity and its impact on patients with COVID-19. SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine 2020;25(6);1-8.
• 21. Sharif SP. UK medical students graduating early to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Medicine 2020;5(7):1-4.
• 22. Harvey A. Covid-19: Medical schools given powers to graduate final year students early to help NHS. BMJ 2020;368:1227.
• 23. Flotte TR, Larkin AC, Fischer MA et al. Accelerated graduation and the deployment of new physicians during the COVID-19 pan- demic. Acad Med 2020;95(10):1492-4.
• 24. Gupta B, Bajwa SJS, Malhotra N et al. Tough times and miles to go before we sleep-corona warriors. Indian Journal of Anaesthesia 2020;64(14):120-4.
• 25. Yardley S, Teunissen PW, Dornan T. Experiential learning: Trans- forming theory into practice. Medical Teacher 2012;34(2):161-4.
• 26. Marshall AL, Wolanskyj-Spinner A. COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities for educators and generation Z learners. Mayo Clin Proc 2020;95(6):1135-7.
• 27. Dedeilia A, Sotiropoulos MG, Hanrahan JG et al. Medical and surgical education challenges and innovations in the COVID-19 era: A systematic review. In Vivo 2020;34(3):1603-11.
• 28. Almuraqab N. Shall universities at the UAE continue distance learning after the COVID-19 pandemic? Revealing students’ per- spective. IJARET 2020;11(5):226-33.
• 29. Mukhtar K, Javed K, Arooj M et al. Advantages, limitations and recommendations for online learning during COVID-19 pandemic era. Park J Med Sci 2020;36:27-31.
• 30. COVID-19 and higher education: Today and tomorrow. Impact analysis, policy responses and recommendations by IESALC. 2020.
• 31. Yusoff MSB, Hadie SNH, Mohamad I et al. Sustainable medical teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Surviving the new normal. Malays J Med Sci 2020;27(3):137-42.
• 32. Longhurst GJ, Stone DM, Dulohery K et al. Strength, weakness, opportunity, threat (SWOT) analysis of the adaptations to anatomi- cal education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in re- sponse to the Covid-19 pandemic. Anat Sci Educ 2020;13:298-308. 33. Schmidt SMP, Ralph DL, Buskirk B. Utilizing online exams: A case study. Journal of College Teaching & Learning 2009;6(8):1-8.