Participants’ knowledge gain, feedback, and organizers’ experience after online symposium organized for continuous medical education

Abstract

Background: Worldwide lockdown and restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic prohibited gathering of people, which affected the academic activities and learning, especially in professional courses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, online academic events became popular due to necessities, and also convenience. Effectiveness of such online academic events is still not substantially proven. Aims and Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the participants’ knowledge gain, feedback, and organizers’ experience after online symposium organized for continuous medical education (CME). Materials and Methods: We conducted a 2-day electronic symposium (E-Symposium) as part of CME program, collected data from the participants before and after the symposium regarding their knowledge gain and feedback. Results: Our data analysis proved that E-Symposium resulted in significant knowledge gain of the participants, which was highest for faculty, followed by PhD scholars and postgraduate students. More than 80% of participants gave positive feedback and wished to participate in more such online events. Our results confirm that online academic events are successful in medical education and benefit the participants. Conclusion: Academic events organized with online platforms provide good opportunities for both teachers and students to gain knowledge, especially during pandemic and times of social restrictions.