TY - JOUR
T1 - Medical Student Perceptions of the Learning Environment, Quality of Life, and the School of Medicine’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - A Single Institution Perspective
AU - Villanueva, Eric W.
AU - Meissner, Hannah
AU - Walters, Ryan W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, International Association of Medical Science Educators.
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Purpose: Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, American medical schools made swift changes to clinical education based on guidelines provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The purpose of this study was to collect medical student perceptions of the solely online learning environment, their quality of life (QoL), and the pandemic response by their School of Medicine (SoM) to provide suggestions to inform medical schools’ responses during the continuation of this pandemic and the next. Methods: Between April 29, 2020 and May 16, 2020, the authors distributed a 60-item questionnaire that assessed demographics, learning environment, QoL, and the SoM response. Likert-type items were analyzed on an item-by-item basis, whereas themes were identified for open-ended questions. Results: A total of 330 medical students (of 632; 52.2%) responded. Those who responded had positive perceptions of the online learning environment with moderate QoL disruptions to concentration and sleep. Although most students perceived being able to contribute meaningfully to the healthcare setting, they viewed themselves as underutilized. Three themes encapsulated both positive and negative perceptions of the SoM’s response—communication, learning environment, and empathy and support. Conclusion: These findings provide insight into medical student perceptions of their learning environment and QoL as they acclimated to changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Results can help inform a SoM’s response during the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as during future pandemics or crises. Follow‐up surveys of medical students at multiple institutions across the USA and abroad will be essential to better characterize student perceptions.
AB - Purpose: Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, American medical schools made swift changes to clinical education based on guidelines provided by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The purpose of this study was to collect medical student perceptions of the solely online learning environment, their quality of life (QoL), and the pandemic response by their School of Medicine (SoM) to provide suggestions to inform medical schools’ responses during the continuation of this pandemic and the next. Methods: Between April 29, 2020 and May 16, 2020, the authors distributed a 60-item questionnaire that assessed demographics, learning environment, QoL, and the SoM response. Likert-type items were analyzed on an item-by-item basis, whereas themes were identified for open-ended questions. Results: A total of 330 medical students (of 632; 52.2%) responded. Those who responded had positive perceptions of the online learning environment with moderate QoL disruptions to concentration and sleep. Although most students perceived being able to contribute meaningfully to the healthcare setting, they viewed themselves as underutilized. Three themes encapsulated both positive and negative perceptions of the SoM’s response—communication, learning environment, and empathy and support. Conclusion: These findings provide insight into medical student perceptions of their learning environment and QoL as they acclimated to changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Results can help inform a SoM’s response during the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as during future pandemics or crises. Follow‐up surveys of medical students at multiple institutions across the USA and abroad will be essential to better characterize student perceptions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100565003&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85100565003&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40670-021-01223-z
DO - 10.1007/s40670-021-01223-z
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85100565003
VL - 31
SP - 589
EP - 598
JO - Medical Science Educator
JF - Medical Science Educator
SN - 2156-8650
IS - 2
ER -