Experience and perception of virtual clinical conferencing during COVID-19 pandemic by doctors at the university of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: The first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak resulted in the restriction of physical meetings/gatherings worldwide as part of disease preventive measures. This restriction affected formal teaching and learning globally, including medical residency training programs in Nigeria. To sustain educational meetings during the COVID-19 disease outbreak, the Postgraduate Studies unit of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) Enugu, Nigeria, directed all clinical departments of the hospital to switch from physical meetings to virtual video conferencing (VVC). Aim: To determine the experience and perception of VVC during COVID-19 by resident doctors and their consultants in UNTH Enugu, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Questionnaires were administered to 220 consenting medical doctors randomly selected from the population of resident doctors (trainees) and Consultants (trainers) at the UNTH, Enugu, Nigeria. The data were collected by an online generated Google form (self-administered questionnaire), some of which were printed and self-administered. Data analysis was done with SPSS version 20.0. Results: Out of 220 participants, 202 participants filled the questionnaires appropriately and were analyzed. Of the participants, 196 (97.0%) participated in VVC since COVID-19. Only 107 (54.6%) agreed they were satisfied while 89 (45.4%) were not satisfied. Only 108 (55.1%) respondents agreed that they preferred virtual meetings over physical meetings. A majority of respondents (79.1%, 155/196) preferred physical meetings over virtual meetings. The most common reason for preferring VVC over the physical meeting is its convenience, whereas in the converse, the commonest reason is its ability to cover all the academic programs. Conclusion: There is an improved participation level in academic residency programs by residents and consultants since the introduction of VVC, during the COVID-19 pandemic at UNTH Enugu.