Abstract
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic brought about a major shift in the educational training of surgical trainees. As the Lockdown was implemented and the daily workforce reduced, an alternate method was employed to provide uninterrupted learning. Blended learning that includes virtual learning with face-to-face learning/teaching was utilized for the surgical trainees. MOODLE (Modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment), an open-source learning management system, was integrated as an Online Component of our Blended Learning Program. We aimed to evaluate the perception of postgraduate trainees of General Surgery regarding the benefits and limitations of Blended Learning, particularly its online component, i.e., Moodle LMS, for the betterment of surgical -education during the COVID-19 pandemic.Material and MethodsThirty-three postgraduate general surgery trainees were enrolled in a blended learning program, in which its online component, Moodle LMS, comprised four major topics on General Surgery. A questionnaire was provided to the trainees to obtain feedback on blended learning in general, and Moodle LMS was mainly themed on the Likert scale.ResultsThe approach of blended learning was positively received by the participants, the majority of whom were females (75%) and comprising of Year 1 residents (33.3%). Nearly half of the participants found Moodle LMS user-friendly, practical and a good platform for learning. However, nearly two thirds (60.6%) were uncertain if it ever helped in applying knowledge to interpret laboratory and radiological results for patient management. Even then, most of them found that the face-to-face component of blended learning helped them develop specific clinical and surgical skills (42.4%). Emphatically, 78.7% would recommend it for surgical training.ConclusionBlended learning was found to be beneficial in the training process of surgical postgraduates in the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. We recommend it for the training of doctors for optimized learning.
Highlights
The current COVID-19 pandemic crisis has affected almost every aspect of life around the globe
Thirty-three postgraduate general surgery trainees were enrolled in a blended learning program, in which its online component, Moodle LMS, comprised four major topics on General Surgery
The approach of blended learning was positively received by the participants, the majority of whom were females (75%) and comprising of Year 1 residents (33.3%)
Summary
The current COVID-19 pandemic crisis has affected almost every aspect of life around the globe. The current situation led to a massive challenge for educators to develop an alternate effective distant elearning system to provide and sustain quality medical education to the learners. This has provided an opportunity for them to utilize online teaching and learning tools to fill in the gap created by the disruption of traditional teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. We aimed to evaluate the perception of postgraduate trainees of General Surgery regarding the benefits and limitations of Blended Learning, its online component, i.e., Moodle LMS, for the betterment of surgical -education during the COVID-19 pandemic
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