E-Learning Experience of Medical and Dental Students from Private Colleges of Karachi, During COVID-19

Objectives: To evaluate the IT aptitude of medical and dental students. The secondary objectives were to identify IT related issues faced by students during e-learning sessions,to asssess the perception of e-learning among students and to assess the perception of different e-media among students. Study design and Setting: A cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected MBBS and BDS students of various private Medical and Dental Colleges of Karachi, affiliated with the same University. Methodology: The sample size was calculated to be 442. Students from the first year to the final year were approached to fill the online pre-tested questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS, Version 21. Confidentiality and privacy of the data were maintained. Ethical approval was taken from the relevant boards. Results: Out of 446 participants, 57.62% were from MBBS and 42.3% were from BDS. 96.41% of students were taking their online classes from their home. Most of the students (56.7%) preferred mobile phones for these sessions and used broadband or local area network internet connections (55.59%). Conclusion: Uninterrupted network connectivity is crucial for the effective implementation of a Virtual Education Program. The Medical and Dental Colleges of a developing country like Pakistan, have a long way to go but with the development of a technologically sound infrastructure, e-learning can prove to be successful in the future