Perceptions of undergraduate medical students towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic-experiences from a medical college in Delhi

Authors

  • Vishal Sharma Department of Community Medicine, Army College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
  • Priya Arora Department of Community Medicine, Army College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
  • Gurmeet Kaur Department of Community Medicine, Army College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20214572

Keywords:

COVID-19 pandemic, Medical students, Online learning

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has caused upheaval in all aspects of our lives and education system has also faced disruptions. Medical teaching is of paramount importance as it is preparing future doctors for such emergencies. Though online teaching by the institutions and faculties has continued but it is also equally important to know the learners’ perspective, i.e.., the undergraduate medical students who have to cope-up with the change in teaching practices. To assess the perceptions of medical students regarding online learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. To understand the problems and apprehensions faced by these students.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical students of a medical college in Delhi. To ensure reliable results, a sample size of 50% was decided with equal representation from students studying in different professional years of MBBS. 

Results: Although medical students had used online learning earlier but it was not very preferable. Students faced challenges both due to unsatisfactory learning atmosphere at home and also technological issues associated with online learning. Students are also worried about lengthening of duration of the course and inadequate clinical exposure.

Conclusions: Medical education system has to be prepared for blended learning by use of resources to overcome challenges associated with technological problems so as to facilitate learning of the students.

 

References

1360511_UGC-Guidelines-for-Re-opening-of-Universities-and-Colleges.pdf. Available at: https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/4613471_Guidelines.pdf. Accessed on 20 January, 2021.

Rose S. Medical Student Education in the Time of COVID-19. JAMA. 2020;323(21):2131–2132.

Patil NG, Chan Y, Yan H. SARS and its effect on medical education in Hong Kong. Med Educ. 2003;37(12):1127-8.

Ahmed H, Allaf M, Elghazaly H. COVID-19 and Medical Education. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2020;20(7):777-8.

Dost S, Hossain A, Shehab M, Abdelwahed A, Al-Nusair L. Perceptions of medical students towards online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national cross-sectional survey of 2721 UK medical students. BMJ Open. 2020;10(11):e042378.

How Has COVID-19 Affected Medical Teaching? HMS Postgraduate Education (harvard.edu). Available at: https://postgraduateeducation.hms.harvard.edu/trends-medicine/how-has-covid-19-affected-medical-teaching. Accessed on 20 January, 2021.

Arja SB, Wilson L, Fatteh S, Kottathveetil P, Fateh A, Bala Arja S. Medical Education during COVID-19: Response at one medical school. J Adv Med Educ Prof. 2021;9(3):176-82.

Meo SA, Abukhalaf AA, Alomar AA, Sattar K, Klonoff DC. COVID-19 pandemic: impact of quarantine on medical students’ mental wellbeing and learning behaviors. Pak j med sci. 2020;36(COVID19-S4):S43.

Alsoufi A, Alsuyihili A, Msherghi A, Elhadi A, Atiyah H, et al. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education: Medical students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding electronic learning. PLOS one.2020;15(11):e0242905.

Gismalla MDA, Mohamed MS, Ibrahim OSO, Elhassan MMA, Mohamed MSE. Medical students’ perception towards E-learning during COVID-19 pandemic in a high burden developing country. BMC Med Education. 2021;21:377.

Ramachandran K, Dinesh Kumar R. Perception of medical students about online learning in the COVID-19 era. Biomedicine. 2021;41(1):139-45.

Rezaei H, Haghdoost A, Javar HA, Dehnavieh R, Aramesh S, Dehgani N et al. The effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on medical sciences education in Iran. J Educ Health Promot. 2021;20;10:136.

Franklin G, Martin C, Ruszaj M, Matin M, Kataria A, Hu J et al. How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Medical Education during the Last Year of Medical School: A Class Survey. Life. 2021;11(4):294.

Downloads

Published

2021-11-24

How to Cite

Sharma, V., Arora, P., & Kaur, G. (2021). Perceptions of undergraduate medical students towards online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic-experiences from a medical college in Delhi. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 8(12), 5818–5822. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20214572

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles