The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education: adaptability and remote learning experience of the Peruvian American Medical Society

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on medical care and medical education in Peru. In response, the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS), a charitable medical organization based in the USA, pursued its medical and educational missions in Peru by adopting virtual learning technology. We developed closer collaborative relationships with several medical schools and the Peruvian Association of Medical Schools (ASPEFAM) while offering a faculty panel of twenty-four members to provide lectures and multidisciplinary webinars in Spanish. We conducted 19 webinars including COVID -19 and non-COVID-19 related topics that over the last two years attracted 14,489 participants from 23 countries. They were the foundation for twenty publications in Peruvian medical journals. Our clinical investigations competition was positively received as was our pilot project on research mentorship. The COVID -19 pandemic had a positive effect on the educational mission of PAMS in Peru.

Should China Expand Its Medical Education Scale? Evidence From Comparative Research

Purpose This study compares doctor staffing level and the scale of medical education in China with those of other countries and proposes policy recommendations for future adjustments to the scale of China's medical education. Design/Approach/Methods This study employs a literature review and descriptive analysis. Findings China had 1.98 medical doctors per 1,000 people in 2018, ranking 85th out of the 193 member-states of the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2017, China had 1.99 practicing doctors per 1,000 people, only ranking above Turkey (1.88) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. China had only 10.28 medical graduates per 100,000 people—placing in the bottom third of OECD countries. China's provision of 1.4 medical schools per 10 million people was also significantly lower than the global average (3.9). However, the average number of students enrolled in medical schools (509) in China was significantly higher than the global average (160). Originality/Value Although the scale of admission in undergraduate medical education must be expanded in China, this needs to be achieved while controlling the average number of medical students per school and reducing enrollment in low-quality medical schools. Furthermore, it is necessary to establish new medical schools while improving the operating level of existing ones.

Promoting College Student's Systems Thinking

This study examined how college students in a medical school in China engaged in learning in asynchronous online learning environments during the COVID-19 health crisis. A quasi-experimental design approach was employed to compare if a class of students had better learning outcomes and developed systems thinking when asynchronous discussion forums incorporated an inquiry-based pedagogical approach in one unit, whereas the other unit followed a traditional instructor-led approach. In sum, 25 junior students participated in this study. Quantitative results show that the students had statistically significant higher assessment scores and improved systems thinking when the unit incorporated the inquiry-based pedagogical approach. Qualitative findings also demonstrated how students engaged in learning and how the instructor scaffolded students' inquiries and learning. Practical implications for instructors' teaching online courses are also discussed. © The author(s) 2023.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medical education in Greece: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Medical education was widely affected by the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Long-distance learning was implemented over the traditional educational paradigm. Clinical clerkships were canceled, and evaluation methods were altered. This study aims to assess this multifaceted impact on the Greek undergraduate medical community. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted. All undergraduate medical students at Greek Universities were addressed using social media. The data were post-stratified according to the population's male-to-female ratio and underwent descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Associations were determined using chi-square and Fisher's exact test. A linear regression model was developed to investigate the factors that contributed to the overall impact of the pandemic on medical education. RESULTS: A total of 905 responses were analyzed, representing 9.8 % of Greece's medical students. Most reported decreased duration of laboratory (n =711, 78.5 %) and clinical (n =526, 96.7 %) practice. The majority stated that their ability to perform practical skills was affected negatively (n =805, 89.0 %). The impact on student's education was positively associated with their psychological impact. Therefore, a more negative effect on the student's education was observed on those whose psychology was affected more negatively [ß =0.49, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.40, 0.58, p <0.001). Additionally, the pandemic's overall impact on medical education was much more unfavorable for the clinical than the pre-clinical students (ß =-0.30, 95 % CI: -0.40, -0.20, p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study's findings agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the education and personal life of medical students, especially in the advanced years. An insight into their specific needs to overcome the impact on their education is provided. The necessity of future mitigating actions is underlined. Emphasis should be given to clinical skills and enhancing the students' adaptive behavior to attenuate the consequences on their psychology, social life, and future healthcare provider careers. HIPPOKRATIA 2022, 26 (2):55-61.

ROAD-MAP FOR CONDUCTING MEDICAL EXAMS IN RESOURCE LIMITED COUNTRIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected medical education worldwide. Developed countries have successfully managed this by adopting modified ways of teaching and assessment and utilizing their resources but low income countries have struggled in managing the challenges they have faced in teaching and assessment. Medical exams have been postponed multiple times because of no clear way forward due to limited resources. This has not only resulted in wasting of the time of students but also adds to desperation and frustration of the students as well as teachers and institutes. Newer modes of information transfer including E-lectures, pre-recorded videos, simulation based learning and assessment (Kahoot, Socrative etc) have been introduced over the past two years. This paper illustrates a modified model for medical exams which may prove a suitable alternative for low income countries during pandemic. © 2022, Khyber Medical University. All rights reserved.

A hospital-based study on COVID-19 patients with rhino-orbital mucormycosis

According to a published literature from the end of 2019 to the start of April 2021, India contributed approximately 71% of the global cases of mucormycosis in patients with COVID-19. In addition to this, hyperglycemia in diabetics, steroid therapy, and consequent metabolic acidosis and diabetic keto acidosis along with other risk factors such as prolonged hospitalization with or without mechanical ventilators increase the chance of infection. Aims and Objectives In our study, we suggested the risk factors, clinical features, appropriate investigations, and effective treatment to control the infection of post-COVID-19 rhino-orbital mucormycosis. After taking history of the patients (age, residential area, date of admission, symptoms of illness, comorbidities, ex-diabetes, hypertension or other major illness, treatment history during COVID infection or other regular medications of the patient, and ex-history of steroid intake), we noted the related clinical features of rhino-orbital mucormycosis of the patients.

Palliative and end of life care teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic – what can we learn?

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused far-reaching disruption and medical education had to rapidly adapt to overcome the many challenges. Palliative and end of life care (PEOLC) is a core competency for all UK graduating medical students, and may involve emotionally confronting topics requiring great care during teaching sessions, which is potentially difficult in a virtual environment. The ability of medical schools to foster experiential PEOLC learning may also have been impacted. However, the pandemic may have been a catalyst for some positive changes in PEOLC teaching too. Questions relating to the pandemic were included as part of a larger national survey of PEOLC teaching.MethodAn anonymised web-based 46-item questionnaire was sent to the PEOLC Teaching Lead(s) at 35 UK medical schools. 12 items related to adaptations to teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsResponses received from 31 schools. Previously popular teaching methods, such as lectures and seminars/small group discussions, were newly introduced in an online format in 94% and 87% of medical schools respectively. Utilisation of e-learning increased from 59% to 84%. Other newly introduced teaching methods included: telemedicine, podcasts, augmented reality, virtual reality, and virtual ward rounds. Use of experience in clinical areas as a teaching method decreased from 100% to 68% of medical schools. In 30% of schools, assessments were no longer in-person. 40% of participants declared that they had developed novel teaching methods or resources during the pandemic, mostly relating to technology enhanced learning or simulation. Many participants shared the opinion that the increased use of online resources and pre-recorded sessions will persist after the pandemic.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic necessitated PEOLC teaching to rapidly transition online and the use of novel approaches to facilitate clinical experience, however a number of medical schools intend to continue utilising skills and resources developed during this time.

How Older Adults Learn Medical Instruction: A Narrative Review of Health Literacy Skills and Learning Styles among Older Adults

Not only is aging a risk factor for a wide range of conditions, but it is also difficult to manage and educate older people. Patient education, including that for older adults, is important for achieving positive health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic, which affects older adults disproportionately, necessitates the use of telemedicine or digital medicine, as well as patient self-management. Telemedicine and self-care management, on the other hand, is heavily reliant on a person's level of health literacy. As a result, a narrative review of literature on older adults' literacy skills and learning styles is conducted to better understand how they comprehend and process health-related information. According to the findings of this study, tailored medical education that takes into account older adults' learning styles and literacy skills improve overall health outcomes among this population.

An Update on Medical School Accreditation in the United States: Implications for the Single Graduate Medical Education (GME) Era.

In the United States, medical schools are accredited by either the Liaison on Committee Medical Education (LCME) or the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), which assesses the quality and standards of Doctor of Medicine (MD)-granting and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO)-granting institutions, respectively. Thereafter, new MD and DO physicians complete graduate medical education (GME) training. Historically, the two physician licensure pathways have been predominantly separate, but in 2020, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and American Osteopathic Association finalized a single accreditation GME system. Now, other elements of MD and DO physician training that have traditionally remained separate, such as undergraduate medical education (UME), are increasingly being scrutinized. Since 2010, when the accreditation of UME was last qualitatively criticized, the standards and competencies set forth by LCME and COCA have converged. COCA, in particular, has updated its requirements to emphasize scholarly activity, improve inpatient clinical rotation requirements, engage medical students, and enhance clinical faculty qualifications. Such convergence brings to question the continuing need for two independent accreditation pathways and barriers that may prevent a single accreditation. We argue that although MD and DO physicians are unique, the natural confluence of UME accreditation represents an opportunity to simplify and improve physician training in the United States. Our analysis suggests the major barriers to implementing a single accreditation system surround the requirement of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM)-focused faculty by COCA and the two separate licensing exams (USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) and COMLEX (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination)). However, with a continuing decline in osteopathic physicians practicing OMM and growing debate over a new single licensing exam, a single accreditation UME system may be practically achieved.

Remote Assessment Strategies in the Post-COVID Era of Blended Learning: Do They Have a Role?

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, students' right to education has been threatened globally, and medical colleges are not an exception to this. During COVID-19 induced lockdown, medical colleges had to resort to online classes instead of regular academic sessions. Medical colleges and other higher education institutions in India faced a challenge in determining on how to engage their students in the learning process and assess them using reliable, effective and acceptable methods. Now that the COVID pandemic is nearly over, many medical colleges have already started regular sessions. At the same time, some continue to use online lectures and other tools for engaging their learners in addition to regular classes. Medical colleges also used different online tools for formative assessments. But the effectiveness of such online educational activities is yet to be established in India. This article discusses how unsupervised online tests can be used for formative and summative exams in post-COVID medical education.

Medicine as a Job and Not as a Career - Recruiting and Retaining an Evolving Physician Workforce

Physicians thus increasingly practice as groups or as employees of large healthcare organizations radier than as independent professionals.2 All of this, combined with COVID's impact on vulnerable populations and with the recent rise in asset values, such as residential real estate, and it is not surprising diat there is accelerated retirement among older physicians.3 According to a report by Doximity, more than 1% of the physician workforce retired earlier than expected due to the pandemic.4 Considering the number of physicians in the United States and the high estimated costs of physician turnover, this has significant impact on our healthcare system. Over the next decade, job growth for advanced practice clinicians (APCs), such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, is expected to far eclipse physician growth (46% and 31% versus 3%, respectively).1 Legislation provides tiiese clinicians a growing scope of practice in many states, including providing more patient care through collaborative and alternative practice agreements. Exhibited executive decision-making through committee and society leadership;advanced education, such as MBAs, and leadership development training;and experience leading healthcare start-ups or non-clinical firms are additional factors to consider. Health system leaders who can make wise, human-centered investments in technology ahead of crises to encourage patient engagement, accelerate clinical documentation, provide cognitive decision support, and reduce physician between-visit work will create an advantage in retaining satisfied physicians.

Assessment of Anatomy Education Teaching Modalities before and during COVID-19 in US Medical Schools

Medical schools in the United States, as well as across the world, have undergone curriculum reform in the delivery of anatomy courses, which recently required social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare total teaching time across three major types of anatomy curricular formats in preclerkship and clerkship phases of US medical education, and quantitatively describe which tools/teaching modalities are used within different curricula structures across preclinical and clinical anatomy courses as well as evaluate the relative percent of the curricular time their use comprised prior to and during the pandemic. An optional survey instrument (with skip patterns), developed using Qualtrics Software and approved by the author's home Institutional Review Board, was sent to anatomy course directors at 152 allopathic medical schools, from all four geographic and size categories delineated by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Data were analyzed using Qualtrics XM Stats iQ software. Thirty allopathic US medical institutions were represented in this survey, among which there existed an even distribution across the three integration formats with the majority of instruction occurring in the first-year curriculum. Total anatomy teaching time varied widely, but cadaveric dissection and lectures were the predominant teaching modalities, even during the pandemic. Traditional dissection comprised the majority of contact time compared to alternative modalities, but less than half of respondents currently incorporate new modalities. Approximately half of the schools changed to an all-virtual format for 2020–2021. Among those that were fully virtual, time using 3D anatomy significantly increased. Our results demonstrate that traditional anatomic educational practices remain the mainstay of medical education. Surprisingly, total contact hours in anatomic education varied widely, but there were striking similarities in the use of traditional tools.

Depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Depression, anxiety, and stress among medical undergraduate students are often underrecognized and undertreated. Prolonged online classes in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in tremendous psychological stress among students.

A cross sectional study on myths and facts about COVID - 19 vaccines among undergraduate medical students

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the awareness of myths and facts of COVID-19 vaccines among medical undergraduate students in South India. Out of the 400 study subjects, 97% believed it was safe to get vaccinated, and 81% approved that vaccination is essential after getting natural immunity from the disease. About 81% believed there were no severe complications, and 33% believed there were no contraindications. About 49% of respondents thought children should be vaccinated, and 39% thought it was safe to give blood after vaccination. 32% believed vaccines are effective against variants, and 76% believed all routine vaccination should be continued. This study reflects the opinions of a group of people and hence cannot be compared with other survey studies. However, the discussion is done about the common myths regarding the CDC and WHO. Conducting survey studies will help to identify the barriers to people accepting new therapies.

Prevalence and predictors for adverse effects of Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 Vaccines

Objective: To see the prevalence and potential predictors for side effects of Sinopharm and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines among students of medical, and BS human nutrition and dietetics courses. Study Design: Cross-sectional Proforma-derived. Setting: Sialkot Medical College, Sialkot, Pakistan. Period: July and August, 2021. Material & Methods: Fifty students (MBBS = 30;Dietetics course = 20) with at least one dose of Sinopharm or Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine were recruited, purposively. The subjects were asked to report in an indigenously designed proforma on adverse effects using recall methodology for open time. Results: Forty nine subjects gave complete responses in the proforma. The rate of adverse effects increased from 75% (n = 3) against Sinopharm to 100% (n = 9) against Sinovac vaccine among 13 students of Dietetics who had only 1st dose. For rest of the 36 participants, the rate was found, as: 76.5% (n = 13) against each of the 1st and 2nd dose of Sinopharm;78.9% (n = 15) against 1st and 68.4 (n = 13) against 2nd doses of Sinovac vaccine. The frequency of different adverse effects per individual ranged 1-3 (Sinopharm) or 1-4 (Sinovac). Whereas, lower rate of injection site pain was recorded on 1st dose of Sinopharm than Sinovac (52.9 vs 57.9%, respectively). None of the variables was noted as potential predictor for the side effects (p >.05). Conclusion: Sinopharm, and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines exhibit almost similar prevalence of self-manageable side effects. Moreover, there is no predictor for the effects. [ FROM AUTHOR]

Duration of screen time and its effect on reaction time in 1st year MBBS students in a medical college of Southern Odisha

Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on 232 1st year MBBS students in the age group of 18-23 years.

NewsCAP: Ann Kurth named next NYAM president

The article announces the appointment of Ann Kurth as the next president of the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM), the first nurse and first nonphysician to lead the institution.

Epidemiological profile of COVID 19 cases admitted in Dedicated COVID Hospital Government Medical College, Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) three months after the first case of Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) was reported in Wuhan, China in late December 2019. India recorded its first COVID-19 case on 30th January 2020. As on 30th September 2020, a total of 63,01,156 COVID-19 cases and 98,585 deaths have been reported in the country. An observational study was carried out among all COVID-19 positive cases admitted in Dedicated COVID Hospital Government Medical College Aurangabad, Maharashtra during the period between 1st April to 30th September with the aim to study demographic distribution, clinical manifestation and co morbid status of COVID-19 positive patients. Out of total 6,564 COVID suspect patients admitted in DCH within the study period a total of 2,986 tested positive for COVID-19. Out of these 2,986 patients 1,812 (60.68%) were discharged according to the ICMR guidelines while 724 (24.25%) cases died due to COVID-19. There were still 379 (12.69%) of active cases in the hospital. Among the admitted patients the largest stratum of 1,156 (38.71%) was contributed by patients belonging to the age group of 41-60 years while only 68 (2.28%) patients were in the age group of above 80 years of age. On admission the most frequent clinical profile was characterized by breathlessness (37%) and fever (35%). While 7.82% of the patients were asymptomatic. Among the patients, hypertension (n=679) was the most prevalent co-morbidity followed by diabetes (n=573) and ischemic heart disease (n=166).