The impact of COVID-19 on medical education A small-scale cross-sectional survey of medical students' perspectives

OBJECTIVE To investigate undergraduate medical students' perspectives of the impact of emergency online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns on medical training in Greece and abroad. METHOD A self-ad-ministered online questionnaire was addressed to undergraduate medical students, assessing their pre-COVID digital literacy, access to technological facilities, clinics, lectures, exam provision and attitudes towards the disrup-tion of their education and their role in managing the health crisis. RESULTS A total of 140 medical students responded to the questionnaire. Greek medical students seemed more familiar with online learning pre-COVID compared to their fellow students abroad, while technological facilities appeared generally accessible at the start of the pandemic. A hybrid online-learning model was employed for remote teaching with e-lectures rated as highly effective by the Greeks, but unrewarding by foreign students. Online exams were conducted with inadequate invigilation and allocated time. Medical students' clinical and lab skills, stress levels and productivity appeared negatively affected, while technological skills were enhanced. Students' eagerness to educate themselves and voluntarily contribute to the health crisis was recorded, although curriculum updates to include COVID-19 issues were found insuf-ficient. CONCLUSIONS An overview of the effects of the ongoing pandemic on medical education was provided. This shift to emergency online teaching can help us build effective teaching approaches for future crises. The long-term impact of the pandemic on medical education remains to be seen when the pandemic subsides.