Paradigm shift in medical education due to the COVID-19 pandemic: guidelines for developing a blended learning curriculum in medical education

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has transformed the world’s economy, health and education in a blink of an eye. Almost 1 billion learners have been affected across the globe. This has resulted in a paradigm shift to blended learning. Therefore, it was felt necessary to provide practical guidelines for the development of blended curriculum in medical education. It would help to overcome the challenges faced due to unprecedented transformation of medical education on account of pandemic. Methods: Guidelines based on personal experience of the authors and literature search were developed using the complex adapted blended learning system (CALBS) framework. Seven experts developed these guidelines using the nominal group technique. The consent form and literature for CABLS framework was shared with experts. The experts developed the guidelines independently during phase one of the technique. After a given time, phase 2 started with moderator mediated discussion about the individual guidelines developed by the experts. After discussion and mutual consensus four types of guideline ideas were developed. During the third phase the experts ranked the guideline ideas on a scale of 1 to 5. The guideline idea that ranked highest was selected as a final guideline for developing a blended learning curriculum. Results: The group consensus resulted in developing seven guidelines for a blended course or curriculum in medical education. These guidelines are based on a conceptual framework supplemented by expert’s own personal experience and current evidence from literature. Conclusions: These guidelines would provide a comprehensive and systematic approach to develop a blended learning curriculum in medical education.

Psychological well-being, stressors, coping strategies and support of undergraduate healthcare students amid COVID-19

“…Participants in this study inevitably linked psychological well-being and emotional experiences to the online teaching and learning platform. In line with the findings in this study, multiple authors have reported on the positive and negative experiences with online and blended learning since the COVID-19 pandemic (Connolly & Abdalla 2022 :1; Gordon et al 2020 :1; Rafi et al 2022 :1; Saber et al 2022 :1). This has resulted in the publication of, among others, guidelines for developing blended curricula in medical education (Rafi et al 2022 :1), best practice examples of moving healthcare education from traditional face-to-face teaching to blended learning (Tuthill, et al 2022 :1–11), and the dissemination of research on the challenges and barriers of blended learning in healthcare education (Saber, et al 2022 :8).…”

“…In line with the findings in this study, multiple authors have reported on the positive and negative experiences with online and blended learning since the COVID-19 pandemic (Connolly & Abdalla 2022 :1; Gordon et al 2020 :1; Rafi et al 2022 :1; Saber et al 2022 :1). This has resulted in the publication of, among others, guidelines for developing blended curricula in medical education (Rafi et al 2022 :1), best practice examples of moving healthcare education from traditional face-to-face teaching to blended learning (Tuthill, et al 2022 :1–11), and the dissemination of research on the challenges and barriers of blended learning in healthcare education (Saber, et al 2022 :8). From the university where this study was conducted, limited documentation on online and blended learning has been published, even though several blended learning practices have continued beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.…”