Premium
Shift to emergency remote preclinical medical education amidst the Covid‐19 pandemic: A single‐institution study
Author(s) -
Nikas Ilias P.,
Lamnisos Demetris,
MeletiouMavrotheris Maria,
Themistocleous Sophia C.,
Pieridi Chryso,
Mytilinaios Dimitrios G.,
Michaelides Constantinos,
Johnson Elizabeth O.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
anatomical sciences education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.126
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1935-9780
pISSN - 1935-9772
DOI - 10.1002/ase.2159
Subject(s) - medical education , pandemic , scale (ratio) , the internet , psychology , virtual learning environment , distance education , perception , quality (philosophy) , perceived stress scale , medicine , covid-19 , exploratory factor analysis , stress (linguistics) , clinical psychology , pedagogy , computer science , pathology , psychometrics , philosophy , linguistics , physics , disease , epistemology , quantum mechanics , neuroscience , world wide web , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The Covid‐19 pandemic disrupted medical education, shifting it towards emergency remote delivery. This cross‐sectional study aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on preclinical medical education and identify predictors of the virtual learning experience and perceived stress. An anonymous survey was delivered electronically to the students of the authors' medical school that attended either histology or pathology. This survey contained two scales, the virtual learning experience (VLE) and the perceived stress scale‐10 (PSS‐10). A total of 173/255 (68%) responded, showing a positive perception towards the remote delivery of both courses. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on the VLE scale items and four new dimensions were formed: “course quality and learning outcomes”, “student motivation”, virtual against F2F learning”, and “virtual laboratory sessions”. The following significant predictors of enhanced VLE, in at least one dimension, were identified: female gender, pathology course, final examination grade >80%, lower perceived stress levels, studying in home country, and holding of another degree before medical school. In addition, the following predictors were significantly associated with higher levels of student perceived stress: female gender, pathology course, studying away from home, and suboptimal internet connection. Notably, the quality of internet connection was significantly associated with the students' final examination performance. Concerning the best mode for future delivery of both courses, most students proposed a blended, rather than an entirely on‐campus or online approach. In conclusion, despite its problems, a high‐quality remote preclinical medical education was possible in the authors' school and offered tremendous opportunities for future improvement.