EC Pharmacology and Toxicology

During COVID-19, online mode of education became the most preferred approach for imparting medical education especially during lockdown. Earlier in medical education, online learning was restricted to searching of literature on internet and applying the information to patient care. COVID 19 resulted in increased significance of online learning in medical education system. Thus, this study was done to evaluate the perception of medical students towards online learning and to analyse the challenges faced by medical students as well as the future prospects of online learning in medical education. This was an observational cross sectional study conducted on 135 medical students who had undergone online learning sessions during COVID-19 lockdown. A validated questionnaire was created and distributed through social platform. Student’s responses were collected and analyzed. Around half of medical students (52.6%) expressed dissatisfaction with e-learning mode of education. A total of 24.4% of students believed that online teaching has reduced the student-teacher interaction by more than 75%. 57% students encountered hindrances like poor internet connectivity issues, 45.2% faced incompatible home environment and 50.4% showed lack of interest. Medical students favoured the conventional mode of teaching to online learning which could be attributed to several reasons such as lack of face to face interaction, scarce practical and hands on training and internet connectivity issues. However, they concurred that online learning can serve as an additional resource to offline regular classes. Moreover, orientation classes for students and faculty alike regarding online training program should be incorporated in their curriculum for better online learning experience.

Keywords: e-Learning; Medical Education; COVID-19; Medical Students

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