Chinese medical students’ interest in COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) happened in early December and it has affected China in more ways than one. The societal response to the pandemic restricted medical students to their homes. Although students cannot learn about COVID-19 through clinical practice, they can still pay attention to news of COVID-19 through various channels. Although, as suggested by previous studies, some medical students have already volunteered to serve during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall willingness of Chinese medical students to volunteer for such has not been systematically examined. AIM To study Chinese medical students’ interest in the relevant knowledge on COVID-19 and what roles they want to play in the pandemic. METHODS Medical students at Peking Union Medical College were surveyed via a web-based questionnaire to obtain data on the extent of interest in the relevant knowledge on COVID-19, attitude towards volunteerism in the pandemic, and career preference. Logistic regression modeling was used to investigate possible factors that could encourage volunteerism among this group in a pandemic. RESULTS A total of 552 medical students responded. Most medical students showed a huge interest in COVID-19. The extent of students’ interest in COVID-19 varied among different student-classes ( P < 0.05). Senior students had higher scores than the other two classes. The number of people who were ‘glad to volunteer’ in COVID-19 represented 85.6% of the respondents. What these students expressed willingness to undertake involved direct, indirect, and administrative job activities. Logistic regression analysis identified two factors that negatively influenced volunteering in the pandemic: Student-class and hazards of the voluntary job. Factors that positively influenced volunteering were time to watch COVID-19 news, predictable impact on China, and moral responsibility. CONCLUSION More innovative methods can be explored to increase Chinese medical students’ interest in reading about the relevant knowledge on COVID-19 and doing voluntary jobs during the pandemic.

Changes in Nursing Students' Career Choices Following the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

“…Interestingly, the likelihood decreased with school grade: ORs = 0.44 (95% CIs: 0.27-0.74) in second year, ORs = 0.31 (95% CIs: 0.18-0.52) in third year, and ORs = 0.20 (95% CIs: 0.12-0.33) in fourth-year students. After removing the independent variable "choosing nursing as career before COVID-19 pandemic" which contributed the most to the model (OR = 66.9), fourth year students were still less likely to choose nursing as future career compared to the first grade students (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35-0.72), which is consistent with the findings in medical students (42). A recent study of Chinese medical students found that senior grade students were less likely to be volunteers combating the COVID-19 pandemic compared to junior and middle grade students (42), probably due to the risk of COVID-19 infection during the pandemic and relatively low income for junior doctors.…”

“…After removing the independent variable "choosing nursing as career before COVID-19 pandemic" which contributed the most to the model (OR = 66.9), fourth year students were still less likely to choose nursing as future career compared to the first grade students (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.35-0.72), which is consistent with the findings in medical students (42). A recent study of Chinese medical students found that senior grade students were less likely to be volunteers combating the COVID-19 pandemic compared to junior and middle grade students (42), probably due to the risk of COVID-19 infection during the pandemic and relatively low income for junior doctors. Intention to be volunteers and career choice in medical or nursing students may be associated with workplace safety such as provision of personal protective equipment (43,44).…”

Qualitative exploration of medical student experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic: implications for medical education

“…Response and perspectives on the medical student role varied globally at this time [ 5 – 9 ]. Medical students have previously assumed greater responsibility and made valuable contributions during historic times of need, however in some areas medical students were viewed as non-essential in the healthcare environment [ 10 ].…”

Qualitative Exploration of Medical Student Experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications for Medical Education

“…Response and perspectives on the medical student role varied globally at this time (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Medical students have previously assumed greater responsibility and made valuable contributions during historic times of need, however in some areas medical students were viewed as non-essential in the healthcare environment (10).…”