Offline-to-online shift of medical education: A multi-method study of medical teachers and students from India

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of the study is to explore undergraduate medical students’ and teachers’ perceptions, detailed insights and learning experiences on online medical education. Materials and Methods: This is an institution-based multi-method study conducted at three medical institutes in India. A self-prepared semi-structured questionnaire was used to extract various perspectives of teaching and assessment through online mode. A qualitative descriptive design was applied using focused group discussion (FGD). All FGDs were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic content analysis to identify themes and subthemes regarding perceptions of online and offline education. Results: A total of 323 medical students out of 510 and 35 medical teachers out of 71 were included in the study. Most students and teachers agreed to the fact that they faced technical difficulties, were perceived as less connected, and felt difficulty in achieving desired competencies. In qualitative analysis, five major themes (Learning Environment, Technology, Competency, Health issues and Assessment) and multiple subthemes were identified. Conclusion: Improvement of the online teaching methods with appropriate technical advancement may help to reduce the gap between the online and offline teaching learning modalities.