ABSTRACT
Clerkship on primary care and family medicine is multi-elemental and was very challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some medical students postponed their graduation because the clerkship at the health center could not be carried out in a pandemic situation. This article aims to describe the community medicine clerkship (CMC) module and its implementation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This module was delivered by online and offline activities from 10th August to 13th September 2020. A total of forty students, twelve faculty mentors, and fifteen Primary Health Care (PHC) preceptors from ten PHCs in the Tangerang District, Indonesia were involved. Students could carry out activities and fulfil assignments given in the midst of a pandemic with a re-designing of the CMC module. The one-sample t-tests were employed to compare the difference between the study values and the values before the COVID-19 pandemic. The study showed that the scores of students participating in CMC module during the COVID-19 pandemic were significantly different from the scores before the pandemic in terms of both individual and group scores. The findings of the study clearly indicated that all clinical clerkship modules must be redesigned to suit the current conditions. Modifications and variations of various learning methods, guidance techniques, monitoring and coordination are all factors that must be considered in implementing changes to these modules. © 2023 Dwi Tyastuti, Risahmawati Risahmawati, Marita Fadhillah, Fika Ekayanti, Sity Kunarisasia & Ahmad A. Habibi.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: COVID-19 pandemic has changed the life condition in various sectors. Numerous students in our faculty who should graduate in 2020 must be delayed. This clinical clerkship performed offline in the pandemic era shall be perceived as a crash program to pass the students. This study aimed to evaluate the implementation of a community medicine clerkship (CMC) amidst the pandemic by referring to students' perceptions. Methods: This research was a mixed methods study involving 40 students from Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah, Indonesia. Students were placed in groups in the ten health centers in Tangerang Regency from August to September 2020. The open-ended question via online form was distributed at the beginning of the activity and the fourth week of the clerkship. Results: The study revealed that students' concerns increased from week one to week four, but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The participants identified as the causative factors were insufficient availability of personal protective equipment (PPE), unsynchronized coordination between faculties, preceptors and practice fields, many assignments, and frequent changes in schedule and activities. Conclusion: The implementation of CMC was affected by four factors, namely the faculty, the preceptors, the practical field, and the student itself. Asynchrony within the entire factor results in and contributes to students' concern for practice in the field. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.