Medical students’ views on the distance education practices of the neuroanatomy course during the pandemic

Medical students’ views on the pandemic

Abstract

Background/Aim: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late 2019. This highly contagious and pathogenic coronavirus causes acute respiratory disease pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). More than 1.2 billion students in 186 countries are currently affected by school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Educational activities, including clinical medical education, were also stopped during the pandemic. To maintain the continuity of medical education, distance learning approaches were developed, including online/offline teaching methods. Within the scope of this training, the effect of distance learning on students’ experience of neuroanatomy teaching was investigated.

Methods: The study sample included 61 students who agreed to participate. The data of the students who accepted to participate in the study were obtained via a questionnaire form created using the “Attitude Scale towards Distance Education”. The questionnaire was uploaded to the forms section of the Microsoft Teams program, and the link address was sent to all students who took the Neuroanatomy course from the International Faculty of Medicine 2^nd year students via e-mail.

Results: Most students (n = 44, [72.1%]) stated that they could access the internet without any problems, while others had problems. Some students (n = 10; 83.6%) had to share their remote connection devices with their family members during distance education. Some students (n = 9, [14.8%]) had to use mobile phones for homework and exams. Less than half of the students (n = 27, [44.3%]) responded that 3 h per week neuroanatomy teaching was sufficient; most (n = 34, [55.7%]) responded that this was insufficient (P < 0.01). Many of the students who took the distance learning neuroanatomy course (n = 27, [44.3%]) believe that the course has contributed to their professional development (P < 0.01). During distance education, active participation of the classmates – by turning on their microphones – increased the students’ motivation (n = 53, [88.3%]).

Conclusion There were difficulties in understanding the neuroanatomy lectures delivered by distance education. The Turkish students had greater problems in understanding relative to the international students, who were much more focused. Students will likely derive greater benefit from doing the neuroanatomy course face to face.