Background: Coronavirus (COVID19) appears to be an inflection point that is forcing a disruption in medical education. Objective: The study aims to explore how medical schools in Egypt responded to COVID-19 pandemic regarding teaching and learning/assessment for undergraduate students. Design: A mixed method exploratory 2-phase study was conducted. Data was collected through a questionnaire and focus groups. Results: The responses of the participants were categorized according to main themes; University preparedness, Role of faculty in the transition, Role of ME units/Departments/National/Regional bodies in the transition, Role of Egyptian Knowledge Bank, New teaching methods/strategies, New assessment methods/strategies and Projection into the future. The staff level of preparedness for that unexpected shift was evaluated as optimum to high and a good leadership support was reported by 70% of them. They reported conflicting views about the proper role of medical education units but reinforced the idea of Egyptian Knowledge Bank’s crucial role in this transition. Additionally, 64.1% of the participants identified a clinical skills teaching challenge and 76.3% of them reported absence of alternative methods for summative assessment. Finally, there is a communication problem with the students that leads to their detachment. Conclusions: Individuals moved faster than bodies and relied on support existing outside the universities when catastrophe happened. Many recommendations emerged including the need to integrate online learning into the curriculum at favorable percentages.

Purpose: Learning focus has shifted from conventional teacher-centered to student-centered; therefore, methods used to support and encourage learners must be considered. Meanwhile, the individual differences between learners should be taken into consideration by medical educators. Aiming to achieve a better learning experience, the current study investigates the relationship between personality traits and learning styles and their effect on students' academic achievement. Subjects and Methods: An analytical, cross-sectional study, encompassing a sample of 333 undergraduate first-year medical students, at the Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University in Egypt was conducted. The Big Five personality traits test and VARK learning styles questionnaires were used to assess students' personality traits and learning styles, respectively, in the medical education module which is a part of the Foundation II module. The former is five weeks' duration and is followed by a summative exam at the end. Students' academic achievement was determined from their grades in Foundation II module by the end of the semester. Results: Study findings generally indicate that the highest domain of learning styles among students is the kinesthetic domain. A statistically significant difference between males and females regarding their learning style preferences was detected. Also, there was a statistically significant relationship between auditory and kinesthetic learning styles and academic achievement. Though there was a significant relationship between kinesthetic learning style with both openness traits and academic achievement, no significant statistical relationship was found between any of the personality traits and academic achievement. Conclusion:This study concludes that learning style could affect students' academic achievement. It reveals that the kinesthetic learning style is the most preferred learning style among our medical students, also the agreeableness and openness traits were the most common personality traits among them. No significant relationship was detected between personality traits and academic achievement.

Background With the strike of Covid-19, an unprecedented rapid shift to remote learning happened worldwide with a paradigm shift to online learning from an institutional adjuvant luxury package and learner choice into a forced solo choice. This raises the question of quality assurance. While some groups have already established standards for online courses, teaching and programs yet very little information is included on methodology of their development and very little emphasis is placed on the online learning experience. Nevertheless, no work has been done specifically for medical education institutions. Aim To develop a set of descriptors for best practice in online learning in medical education utilizing existing expertise and needs. Methods This work utilizes a qualitative multistage approach to identify the descriptors of best practice in online learning starting with a question guided focus group, thematic analysis, Delphi technique and an expert consensus session done simultaneously for triangulation. This was done involving 32 institution in 19 countries. Results This materialized into the development of a set of standards, indicators, and development of a checklist for each standard area. The standard areas identified were organizational capacity, educational effectiveness, and human resources each of which listed a number of standards. Expert consensus sessions identified the need for qualification of data and thus the development of indicators for best practice. Conclusion Standards are needed for online learning experience and their development and redesign is situational and needs to be enhanced methodologically in axes that are pertaining to the needs of the education community. Taking such axes into consideration by educators and institutions will lead to planning and implementing successful online learning activities, while taking them into consideration by the evaluators will help them conduct comprehensive audits and provide stakeholders with highly informative evaluation reports.

Background This is a practice guide for the evaluation tool specifically created to objectively evaluate longitudinal faculty development programs (FDP) using the “5×2 -D backward planning faculty development model”. It was necessary to create this tool as existing evaluation methods are designed to evaluate linear faculty development models with a specific endpoint. This backward planning approach is a cyclical model without an endpoint, consisting of 5 dynamic steps that are flexible and interchangeable, therefore can be a base for an evaluation tool that is objective and takes into account all the domains of the FDP in contrast to the existing, traditional, linear evaluation tools which focus on individual aspects of the program. The developed tool will target evaluation of longitudinal faculty development programs regardless of how they were planned. Methodology Deductive qualitative grounded theory approach was used. Evaluation questions were generated and tailored based on the 5 × 2-D model followed by 2 Delphi rounds to finalize them. Based on the finalized evaluation questions from the results of the Delphi rounds, two online focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to deduce the indicators, data sources and data collection method. Results Based on the suggested additions, the authors added 1 new question to domains B, with a total of 42 modifications, such as wording changes or discarding or merging questions. Some domains received no comments, therefore, were not included in round 2. For each evaluation question, authors generated indicators, data sources and data collection methods during the FGD. Conclusion The methodology used to develop this tool takes into account expert opinions. Comprehensiveness of this tool makes it an ideal evaluation tool during self-evaluation or external quality assurance for longitudinal FDP. After its validation and testing, this practice guide can be used worldwide, along with the provided indicators which can be quantified and used to suit the local context.

Background: Crises in academia can best be dealt with as a polarity that needs to be leveraged rather than a problem that needs to be solved. This work aimed at utilizing the Polarity Approach for Continuity and Transformation (PACT)™ to establish a guide for medical schools during times of crisis to minimize the effect of crisis-driven decisions on strategic growth. Subjects and Methods: A qualitative study following the 5-Steps of the PACT process was conducted. A virtual mapping session was held with 108 medical educators from 22 countries to determine the upsides and downsides of strategic orientation and crisis management subsequently. Results: Four polarity maps were generated identifying four tension areas; University reputation, mission, teams, and individuals followed by a 72-item assessment and another mapping session to map the warning signs and action steps. A comparison between private school scores and the whole cohort of respondents showed that private schools had the least problems in team-oriented work. Conclusion:This study highlighted the importance of taking measures to communicate the mission and supporting team functions inside universities either by enhancing resources or utilizing time and effort-saving strategies.