Perception of online and face to face microbiology laboratory sessions among medical students and faculty at Arabian Gulf University: a mixed method study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all spheres of society including medical education and healthcare systems. In response to the pandemic, there has been a transition in medical education practice from traditional forms of teaching to online instruction delivery and virtual learning. Effective clinical microbiology education involves a combination of 'hands-on' practical learning and instructional delivery of scientific knowledge. Microbiology practical laboratories are critical learning environments offering 'hands-on' learning experiences that cannot be replicated through online learning. We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand the perception of online and face-to-face microbiology laboratory sessions among the medical students and microbiology faculty at Arabian Gulf University (AGU). METHODS: The study participants were third and fourth-year undergraduate medical students and faculty involved in delivering microbiology labs at AGU. The questionnaire consisted of questions ranging from perceived learning style to attitude towards online delivery of microbiology curriculum. After the questionnaire administration (google form), focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted for students and microbiology faculty separately. RESULTS: Among 168 students, 50.6% preferred face-to-face lab sessions as compared to 30.4% who preferred online labs, and 51.8% considered online labs to be an essential addition to face-to-face labs. Among the faculty, 85.7% preferred the face-to-face mode of teaching. All the faculty (100%) disagreed that all the microbiology labs teaching should be online. 57.2% considered online labs to be an essential addition to traditional face-to-face labs. Both faculty and students hold that a blended mode of instructional delivery is vital and indispensable for the transfer of skills and knowledge for microbiology students. CONCLUSION: The blended mode of delivering microbiology laboratory sessions in medical school is successful and well-received by both students and faculty. Students take the responsibility for furthering their own learning and understanding of concepts. Instructors have also noticed that blending learning strategies also successfully enhances the development of cognitive skills and problem-solving abilities in students. A review of the microbiology lab curriculum is necessary to identify content areas that can be delivered effectively through online, face-to-face lab sessions, or both, supported with appropriate tools and infrastructure.

Diabetes Mellitus during the Pandemic Covid-19: Prevalence, Pathophysiology, Mechanism, and Management: An updated overview.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is among the most frequently reported comorbidities in patients tainted with the pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). With a high pervasiveness of diabetes mellitus, there is an urgency to understand the special aspects of COVID-19 in hyperglycemic patients. Diabetic patients are at higher risk than the general population of viral or bacterial infections, thus require special attention since diabetes is linked with severe, critical, and lethal modes of COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to focus on epidemiology, pathophysiology, mechanism, and management of DM with COVID-19. METHODS: The search was carried out on databases portals such as Pubmed, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and CINAHL with the keywords, i.e., COVID-19, coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, diabetes, covid-19, etc. Result: DM and COVID-19 disease conditions can impact each other in terms of clinical progression and outcome. Available laboratory/clinical observations suggest that hyperglycemia-induced immune dysfunction, inflated lactate grades, and cytokines storm may play critical roles in the seriousness of COVID-19 in patients with diabetes; however, the exact mechanisms linking diabetes and COVID-19 remain to be further clarified. CONCLUSION: Standards to constrain the disease spread at the individual and community level are the key to extenuate the speedily rising pandemic, while definitive treatment, like plasma therapy, chemoprophylaxis, or vaccine for COVID-19, has yet to be discovered.