BACKGROUND
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented significant challenges to both clinical practice and the delivery of medical education. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of “COVID-19 Rounds”, an innovative educational program, delivered via distance learning to educate students about the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research study is to describe the use of “COVID-19 Rounds”, as an innovative digital learning method in clinical medical education during a rapidly evolving pandemic.
METHODS
“COVID-19 Rounds” provided a contextualized, curriculum-based program that included virtual clinical experiences with physicians on actual rounds in the hospitals and COVID-19 wards, weekly updates on evolving data, new research, and engaging student-led projects. The study included 47 fourth-year medical students at Mohamed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Data was collected by a survey measuring student satisfaction, program effectiveness, impact on knowledge, and student engagement.
RESULTS
Final course evaluation revealed an overall high satisfaction rate (Score 3.9 +/- 0.94). Most students were satisfied with course format (71%), organization (81.6%) and learning experience (73.7%) that the course offered. The course was particularly useful in offering evidence-based talks about aspects of the pandemic (89.5%), providing weekly updates of emerging evidence (84.2%), enhancing understanding of the challenges of the pandemic (89.5%). Satisfaction with distance learning was moderate (62.2%), and a minority of students would have preferred an in-person version of the course (27%).
CONCLUSIONS
This innovative approach to educate medical students about updates in COVID-19 via virtual learning proved effective at achieving objectives and encouraging engagement in research. However, shortcomings of the course related to lack of in-person teaching and clinical activities were also highlighted.