The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK medical education. A nationwide student survey

Tekkis, N; Rafi, Damir; Brown, Sam; Courtney, Alona; Kawka, Michal; Howell, Ann-Marie; McLean, Kenneth A; Gardiner, Matthew; Mavroveli, Stella; Hutchinson, Peter J.; Tekkis, Paris; Wilkinson, Paul; Sam, Amir H.; Savva, Nicos; Kontovounisios, Christos; Hutchinson, Paul; Kawka, M; Singal, Anjali; Chia, Wen Li; Chia, W. L.; Ganesananthan, Sashiananthan; Ooi, Setthasorn Zhi Yang; Pengelly, Sue; Wellington, Jack; Mak, Shiu Ting; Ponniah, Hariharan Subbiah; Heyes, Adam; Aberman, I; Ahmed, Tasneem; Al-Shamaa, Samar; Appleton, Leo; Arshad, Asma; Awan, Hashir Ali; Baig, Qaiser Ali; Benedict, Karl; Berkes, S; Citeroni, Nicole; Damani, Anuja; Sancha, Anjali; Fisayo, Temitope; Gupta, Sneha; Haq, Makinah; Heer, Baveena; Jones, Annabel; Khan, H; Kim, Hyeonjung; Meiyalagan, Narthana; Miller, George; Minta, N; Mirza, Luwaiza; Mohamed, Fatemazahra; Ramjan, Faeez; Read, Phillip; Soni, Lakshya; Tailor, Vinay; Tas, Rukiye N; Vorona, M; Walker, Michaela; Winkler, Tobias; Bardon, A; Acquaah, J; Ball, Tonio; Bani, W; Elmasry, Ahmed; Hussein, Farah E.; Kolluri, M; Lusta, H; Newman, Jason; Nott, M. G.; Perwaiz, Ibrar; Rayner, Robyn; Shah, Anita; Shaw, Ian C.; Yu, Kimberley; Cairns, Matthew; Clough, Ruth T; Gaier, Scott; Hirani, Dhruti; Jeyapalan, T; Li, Y; Patel, Cyra; Shabir, Hassan; Wang, Y A; Weatherhead, A; Dhiran, A; Renney, O; Wells, Paige; Ferguson, S E; Joyce, Anna; Mergo, A.; Adebayo, O; Ahmad, Jamil; Akande, Olawale; Ang, Geik Yong; Aniereobi, E; Awasthi, Sanjay; Banjoko, Adeolu; Bates, Jeffrey; Chibada, C; Clarke, Neil D.; Craner, I; Desai, Drashti; Dixon, Kelcie; Duffaydar, Hamza; Kuti, Modupe; Mughal, Ahsan; Nair, Devika; Pham, Mai; Preest, G; Reid, Russell R.; Sachdeva, Gagandeep; Selvaratnam, K; Sheikh, Javed Alam; Soran, Vina; Stoney, N; Wheatle, Monique; Howarth, Krista R.; Knapp-Wilson, Amber; Lee, K S; Mampitiya, N; Masson, Catrin; McAlinden, Jack; McGowan, Nancy; Parmar, S.; Robinson, Betsy C.; Wahid, Sherehan; Willis, L Denise; Risquet, R; Adebayo, Adedayo S.; Dhingra, Lakshiv; Kathiravelupillai, Senthooran; Narayanan, Ranjit; Soni, Juhi; Ghafourian, Pegah; Hounat, Adam; Lennon, Katrina; Mohamud, M Abdi; Chou, Wen-Ching; Chong, Lillian T.; Graham, Christopher; Piya, Simran; Riad, Abanoub; Vennard, Sophie; Wang, J; Kawar, Lina Najib; Maseland, C; Myatt, R; Saifudin, T N S Tengku; Yong, S.Q.; Douglas, Fiona; Ogbechie, Chris; Sharma, Karisma; Zafar, Lubna; Bajomo, M O; Byrne, Matthew H V; Obi, Chibuzo; Oluyomi, D I; Patsalides, M A; Rajananthanan, Asveny; Richardson, George E.; Clarke, Alasdair D. F.; Roxas, Artemio; Adeboye, William; Argus, Leah; McSweeney, Jared E.; Rahman-Chowdhury, M; Hettiarachchi, Dineshani; Masood, Mohammad; Antypas, A; Moumneh, Thomas; Crespo, Marta de Andres; Zimmerman, M; Dhillon, Anurag; Abraha, Semhar; Burton, Oliver T.; Jalal, Arif Hanafi Bin; Bailey, Benjamin; Casey, Anna; Kathiravelupillai, A; Missir, E; Boult, Heather; Campen, David; Collins, Julie; Dulai, Sukhdeep; Elhassan, Manar; Foster, Zelda; Horton, Evette; Jones, Edgar; Mahapatra, Smita; Nancarrow, T; Nyamapfene, Taona; Rimmer, Abi; Robberstad, M; Robson-Brown, S; Saeed, Ali; Sarwar, Yusuf; Taylor, Carmel; Vetere, G; Whelan, Mike; Williams, Jo; Zahid, Diana Md; Chand, Chitra; Matthews, Mesa Rose

doi:10.1080/0142159x.2021.1962835

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…These findings align with several other studies conducted nationally and internationally. 12,13,14 We found that many students lived in a town or city that was in the process of easing restrictions (50/100, 50%), but that social isolation was still recommended by state or local authorities (46/100, 46%). Some students (11/71, 16%) were even living with high-risk populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

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The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ future careers

Mahjoub

Vasavda²,

Bertram³

et al. 2023

F1000Res

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted medical education on multiple levels, and medical students have been forced to adjust to distance learning, altered clinical opportunities, and standardized testing inconsistencies. We sought to identify the effects of these dramatic deviations on medical students’ career plans. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of medical students between July 13, 2020, and September 9, 2020 in order to assess the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ career decisions. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables. Results: Of the 585 eligible medical students, we had a final sample of 76 responses (n=76) (13% response rate). Students felt neutral regarding having more time to explore research projects (Mean ± SD; 3.06 ± 1.18) and hobbies (3.43 ± 1.28). Most survey respondents somewhat disagreed that they considered quitting medical school during the pandemic (1.55 ± 1.10). Students somewhat agreed that they view the field of medicine more positively since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (3.60 ± 1.09). Respondents somewhat agreed that they would be unable to explore other specialties and find their best fit (3.55 ± 1.32). We found that the minority (4/66, 6%) of students had considered changing their specialty. Students felt neutral in terms of their Step 1 (3.25 ± 1.05) or Step 2 (2.81 ± 1.02) score deterring them from future career opportunities. Conclusions: Most medical students have experienced barriers in their career pathway as a direct cause of COVID-19 restrictions on medical education, including the ability to explore different specialties to discover their best fit or find a chance to network with mentors. However, despite these obstacles, most students remain committed to medicine.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…These findings align with several other studies conducted nationally and internationally. 12 , 13 , 14 …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ future careers

Mahjoub

Vasavda²,

Bertram³

et al. 2023

F1000Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment 18 (MSRA) is a multi-instrument assessment of procedural and clinical knowledge 19 that began in general practice and which has also been used in ophthalmology and obstetrics and gynaecology for several years. 20 In 2022, around 10 UK specialties used MSRA as a means of shortlisting candidates.…”

Section: Strengths and Limitations Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential attainment in specialty training recruitment in the UK: an observational analysis of the impact of psychometric testing assessment in Public Health postgraduate selection

et al. 2023

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ObjectivesTo determine how current psychometric testing approaches used in selection of postgraduate training in UK Public Health are associated with socioeconomic and sociocultural background of applicants (including ethnicity).DesignObservational study using contemporaneous data collected during recruitment and psychometric test scores.SettingAssessment centre of UK national Public Health recruitment for postgraduate Public Health training. The assessment centre element of selection comprises three psychometric assessments: Rust Advanced Numerical Reasoning, Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment II and Public Health situational judgement test.Participants629 applicants completed the assessment centre in 2021. 219 (34.8%) were UK medical graduates, 73 (116%) were international medical graduates and 337 (53.6%) were from backgrounds other than medicine.Main outcome measureMultivariable-adjusted progression statistics in the form of adjusted OR (aOR), accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, professional background and surrogate measures of familial socioeconomic and sociocultural status.Results357 (56.8%) candidates passed all three psychometric tests. Candidate characteristics negatively associated with progression were black ethnicity (aOR 0.19, 0.08 to 0.44), Asian ethnicity (aOR 0.35, 0.16 to 0.71) and coming from a non-UK medical graduate background (aOR 0.05, 0.03 to 0.12); similar differential attainment was observed in each of the psychometric tests. Even within the UK-trained medical cohort, candidates from white British backgrounds were more likely to progress than those from ethnic minorities (89.2% vs 75.0%, p=0.003).ConclusionAlthough perceived to mitigate the risks of conscious and unconscious bias in selection to medical postgraduate training, these psychometric tests demonstrate unexplained variation that suggests differential attainment. Other specialties should enhance their data collection to evaluate the impact of differential attainment on current selection processes and take forward opportunities to mitigate differential attainment where possible.

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“…15 The challenges for medical education during COVID-19 and the innovations implemented have been widely discussed in the medical education literature. Studies have focused on medical students' experience, learnings and thoughts on modified teaching, particularly online delivery, [16][17][18] but there is a lack of literature on the impact of changes in the delivery of medical education on preparedness for transition to work, following graduation, from a medical student perspective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Key aspects of teaching that affect perceived preparedness of medical students for transition to work: insights from the COVID‐19 pandemic

Chan

Hakendorf

Thomas

2023

Internal Medicine Journal

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BackgroundThe self‐perceived preparedness of medical students to transition into practising junior doctors has implications for patient safety, graduate well‐being and development of professional identity.AimsTo examine the impact of changes to final‐year education and placements and determine key elements that contribute to self‐perceived preparedness for transition to work.MethodsAn online survey among final‐year medical students at one Australian medical school in 2020 (the cohort most affected by the coronarvirus disease 2019 [COVID‐19] pandemic), exploring overall self‐perceived preparedness and specific competencies, including questions in previous Australian Medical Council/Medical Board of Australia annual national surveys. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were performed.ResultsThirty‐three percent of eligible participants completed the survey. There was a significant decline in overall self‐perceived preparedness among participants (mean preparedness, 3.55 ± 0.88) compared with 2019 graduates from the same medical school (mean preparedness, 4.28 ± 0.64, P < 0.001) and the national average (mean preparedness, 3.81 ± 0.93, P = 0.04). There was a decline in self‐perceived preparedness for all specific competencies, with complex competencies more greatly affected. Qualitative content analysis of free text responses identified limitations of an online compared with a face‐to‐face formal education program and specific aspects of placements, which contribute to perceived preparedness.ConclusionThe current study highlights key aspects of clinical placements and formal teaching programs that contribute to perceptions of preparedness for transition to clinical practice. Relevant experiential learning in the clinical setting, opportunities for deliberate practice of necessary skills (in simulation and the clinical setting) and reflective opportunities from formal teaching programs contribute to perceived preparedness and are important elements to be included in the final phase of any medical program.

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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK medical education. A nationwide student survey

Cited by 7 publications

References 2 publications

The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ future careers

The perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical students’ future careers

Differential attainment in specialty training recruitment in the UK: an observational analysis of the impact of psychometric testing assessment in Public Health postgraduate selection

Key aspects of teaching that affect perceived preparedness of medical students for transition to work: insights from the COVID‐19 pandemic

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