Perception of Learning Environment Among Anaesthesiology Residents During the Pandemic in a Tertiary Hospital in India: Comparative Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease pandemic has affected the postgraduate educational system infusing online teaching resulting in a blended teaching-learning experience especially in the field of anaesthesiology. Hence, we conducted this study to evaluate the effect of the introduc- tion of blended learning methods on students' perception of the learning environment among different years of anaesthesia residency training. We invited 44 residents belonging to 3 years (Y1, Y2, and Y3) of anaesthesia residency to complete the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure questionnaire. This study was done during the coronavirus disease pandemic after 6 months of incorporation of blended learning methods into the teaching program. The first-year cohort was not exposed to traditional anaesthesia teaching. The student's perception of learning was assessed after 6 months of change in the teaching method. The total Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure scores and the individual domains were compared among the 3 years. There was a significant difference in the corrected Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure score between Y1 (154.2 ± 20.73 [145.11-163.29]) and Y2 (138.27 ± 22.12 [125.2-151.34]) with P = .027. There was no significant difference in the individual domains. Higher score in the first-year residents suggests that it is appropriate to introduce blended learning from the beginning of the course rather than slowly merging with the existing traditional face-to-face teaching-learning methods.