Global Education in STEM and Healthcare: Implications of COVID-19

Abstract

The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March of 2020. Since then, most schools, colleges, and universities across the globe stopped delivering classes face-to-face and transitioned into virtual modalities of instruction. This reformation of academics has had an impact on every field of study, especially those students in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and in the realm of healthcare education. Ranging from middle/high school to undergraduate and graduate programs, STEM degrees require intensive curricula integrating extensive lectures on theoretical topics and laboratory exercises to apply those concepts in a practical setting. Likewise, healthcare education involves hands-on, clinical lab components working on patients, guided by supervisors. The guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States recommended refraining from these physical learning environments since social distancing has been an important preventative measure against the contagion. As in-person classes, labs, and residencies across the world were disrupted, students, faculty, staff, and administrators of STEM and healthcare fields had to face and navigate multifarious challenges to continue the education effectively, while maintaining safety. This review encapsulates such effects of the pandemic on STEM and healthcare education in various countries. The analysis aims to provide an insight into the strategies of distance education and alternative pedagogies for these disciplines adopted by institutions globally in the light of COVID-19, which could potentially serve as a reference model during any future pandemics.