The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey

Abstract Background The Covid-19 pandemic led to significant changes and disruptions to medical education worldwide. We evaluated medical student perceived views on training, their experiences and changes to teaching methods during the pandemic. Methods An online survey of medical students was condu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: TMS Collaborative
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2021-11-01
Series:BMC Medical Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02983-3
_version_ 1798033141871411200
author TMS Collaborative
author_facet TMS Collaborative
author_sort TMS Collaborative
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background The Covid-19 pandemic led to significant changes and disruptions to medical education worldwide. We evaluated medical student perceived views on training, their experiences and changes to teaching methods during the pandemic. Methods An online survey of medical students was conducted in the Autumn of 2020. An international network of collaborators facilitated participant recruitment. Students were surveyed on their perceived overall impact of Covid-19 on their training and several exposure variables. Univariate analyses and adjusted multivariable analysis were performed to determine strengths in associations. Results A total of 1604 eligible participants from 45 countries took part in this survey and 56.3% (n = 860) of these were female. The median age was 21 (Inter Quartile Range:21–23). Nearly half (49.6%, n = 796) of medical students were in their clinical years. The majority (n = 1356, 84.5%) were residents of a low or middle income country. A total of 1305 (81.4%) participants reported that the Covid-19 pandemic had an overall negative impact on their training. On adjusted analysis, being 21 or younger, females, those reporting a decline in conventional lectures and ward based teaching were more likely to report an overall negative impact on their training (p ≤ 0.001). However, an increase in clinical responsibilities was associated with lower odds of participants reporting a negative impact on training (p < 0.001). The participant’s resident nation economy and stage of training were associated with some of the participant training experiences surveyed (p < 0.05). Conclusion An international cohort of medical students reported an overall significant negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their undergraduate training. The efficacy of novel virtual methods of teaching to supplement traditional teaching methods warrants further research.
first_indexed 2024-04-11T20:25:35Z
format Article
id doaj.art-04d93837bb794c618f21398461b1be75
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1472-6920
language English
last_indexed 2024-04-11T20:25:35Z
publishDate 2021-11-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Medical Education
spelling doaj.art-04d93837bb794c618f21398461b1be752022-12-22T04:04:40ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202021-11-012111810.1186/s12909-021-02983-3The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international surveyTMS Collaborative0The Master Surgeon TrustAbstract Background The Covid-19 pandemic led to significant changes and disruptions to medical education worldwide. We evaluated medical student perceived views on training, their experiences and changes to teaching methods during the pandemic. Methods An online survey of medical students was conducted in the Autumn of 2020. An international network of collaborators facilitated participant recruitment. Students were surveyed on their perceived overall impact of Covid-19 on their training and several exposure variables. Univariate analyses and adjusted multivariable analysis were performed to determine strengths in associations. Results A total of 1604 eligible participants from 45 countries took part in this survey and 56.3% (n = 860) of these were female. The median age was 21 (Inter Quartile Range:21–23). Nearly half (49.6%, n = 796) of medical students were in their clinical years. The majority (n = 1356, 84.5%) were residents of a low or middle income country. A total of 1305 (81.4%) participants reported that the Covid-19 pandemic had an overall negative impact on their training. On adjusted analysis, being 21 or younger, females, those reporting a decline in conventional lectures and ward based teaching were more likely to report an overall negative impact on their training (p ≤ 0.001). However, an increase in clinical responsibilities was associated with lower odds of participants reporting a negative impact on training (p < 0.001). The participant’s resident nation economy and stage of training were associated with some of the participant training experiences surveyed (p < 0.05). Conclusion An international cohort of medical students reported an overall significant negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their undergraduate training. The efficacy of novel virtual methods of teaching to supplement traditional teaching methods warrants further research.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02983-3Medical studentsUndergraduateMedical educationCovid-19Cross-sectional survey
spellingShingle TMS Collaborative
The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey
BMC Medical Education
Medical students
Undergraduate
Medical education
Covid-19
Cross-sectional survey
title The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey
title_full The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey
title_fullStr The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey
title_full_unstemmed The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey
title_short The perceived impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on medical student education and training – an international survey
title_sort perceived impact of the covid 19 pandemic on medical student education and training an international survey
topic Medical students
Undergraduate
Medical education
Covid-19
Cross-sectional survey
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02983-3
work_keys_str_mv AT tmscollaborative theperceivedimpactofthecovid19pandemiconmedicalstudenteducationandtraininganinternationalsurvey
AT tmscollaborative perceivedimpactofthecovid19pandemiconmedicalstudenteducationandtraininganinternationalsurvey