COVID-19 Impact on Pathology Education Program in Iran

Background & objective: The coronavirus disease brought worldwide uncertainty, and Iran was affected by it as well as many other countries in the world. Halting face-to-face education due to social distancing and resident re-employment in clinical wards leads to defective education. The aim of this survey was to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of modifications made in pathology residency education in Iran.

Methods: This online survey was conducted on all pathology residents in Iran. An online 30-item questionnaire was developed and used in this study.

Results: Sixty residents (88.3% female) participated in this survey. The majority (70%) of the residents were over 30 years old. Fifty percent of the responders reported that their personal life was influenced by the pandemic. Skyroom and Adobe Connect were the most common platforms for online education with overall satisfaction of 65%. The webinars were considered suitable by 51.7% of the responders. Concerns at work were reported by 48.3% of the residents, while 78.3% reported being exposed to the disease and 55% reported being infected. Concerns about transmission of the disease to family members were reported by 90% of the responders.

Conclusion: This study showed that the pathology residency modifications were successful in providing education. However, their social and educational life characteristics might affect their satisfaction with online education.