LEVEL OF PERCEPTION

PURSUING MEDICAL COURSES

Many factors influence the career specialty decisions made by medical students. The aim of this
study was to broaden consideration of the determinants of specialty choice in a large population
of medical students in their sixth year of study.

Before implementing new workshops and teaching in our faculty for performing basic life
support (BLS), we aimed to determine the level of self-confidence of medical students with
regard to the management of cardiac arrest (CA).

In High-income countries, many academic institutions are using E-learning during COVID 19
Pandemic. However, in limited-resource countries, like Sudan, shifting towards E-learning
requires many adjustments to be made to make sure the E-learning is held in a proper manner,
as best as possible. This study was undertaken to assess medical students’ perception towards
implementing E-learning during COVID 19 Pandemic and to highlight for E-learning
implementation in Sudan as an example of a limited-resource setting.

The total numbers of 358 undergraduate medical students responded to the online survey
questionnaire. The majority (87.7 %) of students agreed that the closure of the university is an
essential decision to control the spread of the COVID-19 infection. Approximately two-thirds (64 
%) of students perceived that E-learning is the best solution during COVID 19 lockdown. The
level of medical students (Pre-clerkship and Clerkship) and place of residence had significant
correlation (p-value < 0.05) with medical students opinion regards starting the E-learning.
Internet bandwidth and connectivity limitation, unfamiliarity with E-learning system, technical
support limitation and time flexibility in case of technical problems during online exams, and lack
of face-to-face interaction were the factors considered by medical students to be against the E-
learning implementation.

students’ career choices regarding specialties or general practice result from the interplay
among several factors. Career interest in general practice is particularly low. Initiatives to
address the factors affecting student career choices regarding less favoured specialties and to
deal with the growing feminisation of the profession, which will lead to irreversible changes in
clinical practice, are required.

The prevalence of perceived stress among medical students was high. This might affect
not only their academic performance but also all aspects of health and life. There is a
wide range of strategies for coping with stress, and student councils could play an
important role in helping students cope with stress.
There has been a rapid increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in Phillipines and many countries
that have an insufficient number of physicians and other health care personnel, and the need for the
inclusion of medical students on health teams is a very important issue. It has been recommended that
medical students work as volunteers, undergo appropriate training, not undertake any activity beyond
their level of competence, and receive continuous supervision and adequate personal protective
equipment. However, the motivation of medical students must be evaluated to make volunteering a more
evidence-based initiative. The aim of our study was to evaluate the motivation of medical students to be
part of health teams to aid in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the most important global health crisis of our time and the greatest challenge
the health system has faced since World War Two. Since its emergence in Asia in 2019, the virus has
spread to every continent except Antarctica. Cases are increasing daily in Europe, North America, and, in
the last weeks, also in Latin America and Africa [1, 2].

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a disruption of undergraduate medical education. In many
countries, medical education faculty have quickly transitioned the first-year curriculum to online activities
in response to the need for social isolation to flatten the curve of new cases of COVID-19 [3]. In addition,
in the final years of medical schools, in many countries, clerkships have been severely affected by the
rapid changes in hospitals due to the need for care of an increasing number of COVID-19 patients, and
medical students have been advised to stay at home given the potential risk of medical students
spreading COVID-19 infection in health care settings and the shortage of personal protective equipment
(PPE) [3, 4].

However, the role of medical students in the COVID-19 pandemic is changing rapidly due to the shortage
of health professionals in many cities, even in developed countries. Both the Medical Schools Council
(MSC) of the United Kingdom and the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) of the United
States have published guidelines for the participation of medical students in the global effort to provide
the best care to patients with COVID-19 [5, 6]. Both associations recommend that medical students work
as volunteers, undergo appropriate training, not undertake any activity beyond their level of competence,
and receive continuous supervision and adequate PPE [5, 6].

In recent weeks, there has been a very large increase in the number of cases in countries that have an
insufficient number of physicians and other health care personnel, and it is possible to anticipate the need
for the inclusion of medical students as part of health teams [2, 7].

In many countries, thousands of medical students have volunteered their services to support the fight
against the coronavirus pandemic [8, 9]. Motivation is pivotal for volunteering and must be evaluated to
make volunteering a more evidence-based initiative.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the motivation of medical students to be part of health teams to help
in the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was performed in a developing country, Brazil, in the first week of
the increase in cases of COVID-19 in Brazil and included 10,433 medical students.
The study has revealed that more than 65 percent of these programs’ graduates were
seeking or had secured internships and summer jobs in STEM fields, and more then 75
percent had been pursuing a STEM major or career. With the COVID-19 pandemic,
many of these employment opportunities have been cancelled, and those studying
STEM are now in a far more precarious position as they navigate the challenges of
remote learning.

The grant will enable data collection that captures a time period when students had to
seek alternative summer programs and make plans for higher education. The research
team will be administering surveys to all 560 current “Staying in Science” study
participants—as well as adults within their support networks—to understand the
disruptions caused by the pandemic, and to identify potential supports they could use in
their academic and professional pursuits. A subset of 16 students will also be followed
to inform the development of case studies that can help paint a fuller picture of how
COVID-19 is impacting student trajectories.

Study data will be collected and analyzed this year, with the dissemination of findings to
higher education institutions at the local, state and national level to begin in the late fall
and to the general public in early 2021. The educators administering the study are
hopeful that the findings can inform science education efforts as they seek innovative
solutions to the challenges resulting from the pandemic, Gupta said.

Learn more about COVID-19 and related research at the Museum by visiting
the Science of COVID-19.
COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruption to the medical education process and to healthcare
systems worldwide [4]. The highly contagious nature of the virus has made it difficult to continue lectures
as usual, thus influencing the medical education process, which is based on lectures and patient-based
education [5]. The COVID-19 pandemic puts people at risk of developing life-threatening conditions,
presenting substantial challenges for medical education, as instructors must deliver lectures safely, while
also ensuring the integrity and continuity of the medical education process. These challenges have
resulted in limited patient care due to the focus on COVID-19 patients, which restricts the availability of
bedside teaching opportunities for medical students. Consequently, they are unable to complete their
clerkships [6]. Medical training through clinical rotations has been suspended [7]. Other challenges
include a fear that medical students may contract the virus during their training and may transmit it to the
community [8]. Additionally, students are required to stay at home and to abide by social distancing
guidelines. Therefore, we must develop a medical education curriculum that provides students with
opportunities for continuous learning, while also avoiding delays due to the pandemic [9].

Some of the most commonly proposed methods include scheduled live online video lectures with
interactive discussions and the utilization of several different programs or self-study online recorded
lectures made available online for medical students in each university [10, 11]. However, educators must
plan to continue to provide medical education and patient care during the pandemic, and these services
should be conducted in accordance with ethical frameworks that are based on beneficence and the
professional virtues of courage and self-sacrifice [12]. Virtual clinical experience was another method
proposed in response to the suspension of clinical clerkship rotations. This would permit medical students
to play the role of a healthcare professional by interviewing patients, working with attendants to plan
treatments, helping with paperwork, and counseling patients about their illness and prognosis [13].