The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical students: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the medical education throughout the world. A study was done to assess the effect of education and psychological behavior on medical students. Aims and Objectives: The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of COVID-19 on medical graduates in various aspects such as education, effect on clinical rotations, impact on the technology used for online classes, effect on quality of life, loneliness, sleep, and depressive symptoms. Materials and Methods: A set of questions were distributed to Government Medical college, Suryapet students during November 2021–January 2022. Questionnaire aimed to study students’ viewpoint of COVID-19’s impact on their education, mental health, and willingness to participate clinically. Results: One hundred medical students from Government Medical College, Suryapet participated in this study. Most students (88%) agreed that pandemic had disrupted their medical education. About 64% agreed to attend clinical rotations and 68% of students accepting the risk of contracting COVID-19 in clinical rotations. COVID-19 had an impact on technology tools used for medical education. Students reported that COVID-19 had moderate impact on quality of life, sleep quality, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The COVID-19 had an overall significant negative impact on undergraduate medical education. It is recommended that measures need to be taken to relieve students’ stress.