The Impact of Covid-19 on Medical Education: Our Students Perception on Practice of Online Education

Background: The emergence of COVID-19 has severely disrupted medical education throughout the world and its effects may forever change the way future doctors and physicians are educated and trained. Social distancing is the most effective strategy to prevent this disease from spreading so medical faculty have transitioned from traditional lectures to online education(1). Aim: To measure the impact of COVID-19 on medical education by asking students perception on practice of online education. Methods: The study was conducted in Quaid-e-Azam Medical College, Bahawalpur from 15th to 30th June, 2020 after getting approval from Ethical committee of the college. This was a simple survey based cross-sectional study using an electronic questionnaire which was based on findings of previously conducted in-depth interviews with the students. The e-questionnaire was sent via WhatsApp to all students of first and second year. All the data collected was entered on excel datasheets and then analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: Our study showed that out of 688 students enrolled for first professional, 427(62%) responded to the survey through WhatsApp. The effect of COVID-19 on student's education showed both supportive and inhibitory factors. Conclusion: Students perception on practicing online education can be a valuable input to the faculty and teachers to improve medical education in future.