Perception and attitudes of medical students on clinical clerkship in the era of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic

Abstract

Background: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been placing severe strain on global healthcare systems and medical education programs, leading to growing demands for medical students to assume the role of preliminary healthcare providers. Objectives: To assess the perception and attitudes of medical students about clinical clerkship training during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: A cross-sectional survey with web-based 3-fields/14-items questionnaire was conducted, from April 7 to 14, 2020, to evaluate their self-assessed perception and attitudes on clerkship training of hospital practice under the COVID-19 outbreak and spread among 161 (78 on pre-clerkship course, 83 on clinical clerkship course) medical students at Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Republic of Korea. Results: Of the 151 medical students who completed the survey, 81 students (53.7%) considered themselves familiar with COVID-19. Although the students were concerned about the spread of the virus during clinical clerkship training, 118 (78.1%) students preferred the clerkship training in a hospital practice. The students in the clinical clerkship program preferred this over those in the pre-clerkship program (85.7% vs. 70.2%, P = 0.03), primarily because a clinical clerkship could not be replaced by an online class during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, their responses indicated, in order of significance, fear of not completing the clerkship course on time, willingness to participate as a preliminary healthcare provider in pandemic, the potential waste of tuition, and belief that a hospital is rather safe. The change in the academic calendar had not a positive impact on the lifestyles of many students. Conclusions: In circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, educational strategies to clinical clerkship training for medical students should be developed to provide them with the opportunity to be actively involved in hospital practice under strict safety guidance focused on preventing virus infection and transmission.

Assessing knowledge, concerns, and risk perceptions among Italian medical students during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

“…However, they also expressed concern that online classes and training could not replace clinical clerkships and would adversely influence their level of competence in the long course. This is in line with previous studies showing that medical students desire a quick return to the clinical setting even during a pandemic [23–25]. Despite all difficulties, the majority of students show a stable or increased level of motivation in carrying on and concluding their studies.…”

A qualitative analysis of third-year medical students’ reflection essays regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their education

“…This fundamental shift in the structure of medical education has had potential to enormously impact the foundational activities that guide and shape physician skill sets (e.g., in-person patient interaction, observation of physical exam skills, hands-on clinical assessment, bedside teaching). Third-year medical students, in particular, have faced a loss of clinical time and patient interaction in the crucial year of core clinical clerkships [ 2 , 6 , 11 ]. During the third year of medical school, students are exposed to different clinical rotations with the expectation that they will use these experiences to inform their selection of a specialty.…”

“…Several previous COVID-19 studies focused on medical students’ views of the impact of remote learning on their education [ 6 , 10 , 11 , 13 ]. Second-year students reported the negative impact that remote learning had on their preparation and training, particularly with regards to the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 examination and learning clinical skills [ 13 ].…”

Remote clinical training practice in the neurology internship during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Educational challenges faced by medical intern training programs have been widely noted during the pandemic, while remote education has been taken as a typical solution to address them [ 19 , 20 ]. In view of the shortage of relevant experience and literature, this investigation aimed to examine whether the online neurology training course based on SPOC and blending learning mode can achieve a good application effect and cater for interns from different medical educational programs during the pandemic period, as well as whether the learning group size has an impact on the teaching/learning effect, and to analyze how a remote clinical training course can be refined.…”