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A qualitative assessment of medical students’ readiness for virtual clerkships at a Qatari university during the COVID-19 pandemic

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submitted on 2024-02-21, 10:47 and posted on 2024-02-21, 10:48 authored by Hiba Bawadi, Ayad Al-Moslih, Rula Shami, Xiangyun Du, Alla El-Awaisi, Hanan Abdul Rahim, Ghadir Fakhri Al-Jayyousi

Background

This study aims to qualitatively examine the readiness of medical students to change to virtual clerkship (VC) during the pandemic, from both the faculty and students’ perspectives.

Methods

A qualitative study was conducted based on the framework of readiness to change. Focus group discussions with students, and semi-structured interviews with clinical faculty members were done using appropriate online platforms. Transcripts were then analyzed using inductive-deductive approach.

Results

Twelve themes emerged which are (1) Perceptions about the university’s decision and its communication to students, (2) A Perceived lack of clinical experience, (3) Students’ role as members of the medical team facing the pandemic, (4) Student safety, (5) Quality and design of VC and the skills it offered, (6) Belief in own ability to succeed in the VC, (7) Confidence that VC would reach its goals, (8) New enhanced learning approaches, (9) Preparing students for new types of practice in the future (10) Acquired skills, 11) Academic support and communication with faculty and college, and 12) Psychological support. Medical students showed limited readiness to undertake a virtual clerkship and not play their role as healthcare professionals during the pandemic. They perceived a huge gap in gaining clinical skills virtually and asked for a quick return to training sites.

Conclusion

Medical students were not ready for virtual clerkships. There will be a need to integrate novel learning modalities such as patient simulations and case-based learning in order to meet future demands of the medical profession and enhance the efficiency of virtual clerkships.

Other Information

Published in: BMC Medical Education
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04117-3

Funding

Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.

History

Language

  • English

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publication Year

  • 2023

License statement

This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Institution affiliated with

  • Qatar University
  • College of Education - QU
  • Office of Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies - QU
  • Qatar University Health - QU
  • College of Medicine - QU HEALTH
  • College of Health Sciences - QU HEALTH
  • College of Pharmacy - QU HEALTH

Methodology

A qualitative study was conducted based on the framework of readiness to change. Focus group discussions with students, and semi-structured interviews with clinical faculty members were done using appropriate online platforms. Transcripts were then analyzed using inductive-deductive approach.

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