Current COVID-19 Pandemic and Medical Education: Medical Students' Perception and Experiences with Online Clinical Teaching and Learning at College of Medicine in Oman

Abstract

Background: Clinical teaching is a form of interpersonal communication between a teacher and learner. It mainly involves a patient or a patient scenario; the student learns how to evaluate a patient and manage the problem. The ideal clinical teaching and learning are done in the patient care area, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, all clinical and classroom teaching is suspended now.Objective: This study's main purpose was to assess medical students' perceptions and experiences with online clinical teaching and learning.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences (CoMHS). All students in 6 and 7 years consented to participate in the survey for a self-filled study (google form). Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics 24.0). Data were expressed in frequencies for questionnaire responses calculated for all variables in numbers and percentages. Independent sample t-test was used to compare differences between two groups. Result: Ninety-one students participated in the study, of which 10.2% were male, and 46.2% were Omani citizens. 27.5% of students were 6th year, and 72.5% were 7th-year students. 69.2% of students did not experience any login/registration problem in GoToWebinar most of the time. Table 1 shows the student's responses in this regard. A significant statistical difference (p- <0.001; 95 % CI: 0.34-0.91) was observed between 6th year (mean-2.79±0.62) and 7th year students (mean-2.16±0.51). Conclusion: Medical students have shown a positive attitude and motivation towards webinar clinical teaching. Online webinar teaching can offer more diverse and compelling educational opportunities. Medical students in clinical years are self-directed learners but need in-depth learning with maximum hands-on practice. The Webinar teaches an impact on medical student education, particularly affecting the hands-on approach and training, which is limited and mandatory to become a doctor.