Medical student's perception of the COVID-19 pandemic effect on their education and well-being: a cross-sectional survey in the United States

Jaideep Chakladar; Anthony Diomino; Wei Tse Li; Joseph C Tsai; Aswini R Krishnan; Angela E Zou; Khush Kharidia; Farhan A Baig; Sarah Householder; Selena Z Kuo; Shyam Chandrasekar; Eric Y Chang; Weg M Ongkeko

doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03197-x

Medical student's perception of the COVID-19 pandemic effect on their education and well-being: a cross-sectional survey in the United States

BMC Med Educ. 2022 Mar 5;22(1):149. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03197-x.

Authors

Jaideep Chakladar^#^{1

2}, Anthony Diomino^#³, Wei Tse Li^#^{1

2}, Joseph C Tsai^{1

2}, Aswini R Krishnan⁴, Angela E Zou⁵, Khush Kharidia⁶, Farhan A Baig⁷, Sarah Householder⁸, Selena Z Kuo⁹, Shyam Chandrasekar¹⁰, Eric Y Chang^{11

12}, Weg M Ongkeko^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department Surgery, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA.
² Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA.
³ UC San Diego School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
⁴ Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
⁵ Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
⁶ Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA.
⁷ University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA.
⁸ Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
⁹ Department of Internal Medicine, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
¹⁰ Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
¹¹ Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, CA, 92093, USA.
¹² Radiology Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA.
¹³ Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Department Surgery, University of California, La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA. [email protected].
¹⁴ Research Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, 92161, USA. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: The effects of drastic curricular changes necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students' education and wellbeing have remained largely unstudied. Out study aimed to characterize how medical students were affected by the pandemic, specifically how limitations introduced by the pandemic may have affected the quality, delivery, and experience of medical education.

Methods: Three hundred students from 5 U.S. allopathic medical schools were surveyed to determine students' perceptions about their quality of medical education, professional development, and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic (October 2020-December 2020).

Results: A large majority of students report that while lecture-based learning has not been significantly affected by the pandemic, small-group and clinical learning have greatly declined in quality. Students also reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and uncertainty with regards to their futures as physicians.

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the medical student education and wellbeing. Although medical schools have implemented measures to continue to train medical students as effectively as they can, further strategies must be devised to ensure the well-being of students in the present and for future national emergencies.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Medical education; Pandemic; Student wellbeing; United States.

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Pandemics
Perception
SARS-CoV-2
Students, Medical* / psychology
United States / epidemiology

Abstract

MeSH terms

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