"Improving Undergraduate Ophthalmology Education in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic by Video-Assisted Online Learning"

Abstract

Introduction:The COVID-19 pandemic had forced many institutions to diminished face-to-face teaching classes. We conduct an online teaching method through an e-learning platform during the pandemic to ensure that the students attain the basic competencies. This study aimed to give an insight into the efficacy of online learning in undergraduate ophthalmology education. Methods:This was an interventional study in a university teaching hospital, and 64 medical students participated in this study. The students were instructed to watch the clinical skill video and make a case report through the e-learning platform. The students completed the multiple-choice test and the student perception questionnaire during the online period. The students then continue to undergo two weeks of in-person clinical clerkship, and at the end of the rotation, the students had an objective structured clinical examination test using simulated patients. Results:The mean score of multiple choice and clinical examination test was 72,50+12,54 and 89,80+6,66, respectively. There also improvement in knowledge and skill about visual acuity and subject refractive examination at the end of the clinical clerkship period. About 85.93% of students were satisfied with online learning quality, but 95.31% of students stated that clinical skills were easier to understand if demonstrated directly by the instructor.Conclusions: This study results can encourage that video-assisted online learning models can be useful as an adjunct for improving undergraduate students' basic ophthalmology skills before they entered clinical clerkship. Quality assurance of the video resource should be done to ensure that students can achieve basic ophthalmology competencies.