Original Article
IJMDC. 2022; 6(6): 824-830
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study
Authors: Abdullah Bukhari, Hamzah Alhamzah, Reema AlDera, Danah Almohaimeed, Norah Albdaya, Turki Alaudah, Abdulmalik Alawam, Asem Shadid.
ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered a paradigm shift to a curriculum that relies entirely on virtual learning. This study identified the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic-related precautions on clinical year students’ medical education and determined whether the lack of exposure to clinical settings affected their choice of specialty. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 25 medical schools in all 13 regions of Saudi Arabia between December 2020 and May 2021. An online survey using Google Form platform was used to collect the data. Results: Of the 996 students who responded to the survey, 55.2% were in their final year. The results showed alterations in all aspects of academic settings; almost half of the participants had their written exams (49.1%, n = 475), clinical examinations (objective structured clinical examination; 45.8%, n = 442), and clinical rotations (43%, n = 415) changed. Of the participants, 40.3% (n = 389) stated that the COVID-19 pandemic-related precautions made them reconsider their specialty of interest. The most common reason was a lack of clinical exposure, particularly in terms of engagement with teaching faculty in hospital settings. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the lack of preparation, exposure, particularly in terms of engagement with teaching faculty in hospital settings among clinical year medical students affected their confidence, which, in turn, influenced their choice of specialty.
Keywords:
Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic, medical education, medical students, virtual learning
Authors
Abdullah Bukhari
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Hamzah Alhamzah
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Reema AlDera
College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Danah Almohaimeed
College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Norah Albdaya
College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Turki Alaudah
College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Abdulmalik Alawam
College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Asem Shadid
Department of Dermatology, King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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Correspondence to:
. Reema AlDera, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.; reemaalderaa2@gmail.com
Publication history
Received 09 Mar 2022
Accepted 22 Apr 2022
Published online 12 May 2022
Published in print 04 Jun 2022
How to cite this article?
Export to EndNote Export to refManPubmed Style
Bukhari A, Alhamzah H, AlDera R, Almohaimeed D, Albdaya N, Alaudah T, Alawam A, Shadid A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. IJMDC. 2022; 6(6): 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
Web Style
Bukhari A, Alhamzah H, AlDera R, Almohaimeed D, Albdaya N, Alaudah T, Alawam A, Shadid A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. https://www.ijmdc.com/?mno=99725 [Access: August 18, 2022]. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
AMA (American Medical Association) Style
Bukhari A, Alhamzah H, AlDera R, Almohaimeed D, Albdaya N, Alaudah T, Alawam A, Shadid A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. IJMDC. 2022; 6(6): 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
Vancouver/ICMJE Style
Bukhari A, Alhamzah H, AlDera R, Almohaimeed D, Albdaya N, Alaudah T, Alawam A, Shadid A. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. IJMDC. (2022), [cited August 18, 2022]; 6(6): 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
Harvard Style
Bukhari, A., Alhamzah, . H., AlDera, . R., Almohaimeed, . D., Albdaya, . N., Alaudah, . T., Alawam, . A. & Shadid, . A. (2022) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. IJMDC, 6 (6), 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
Turabian Style
Bukhari, Abdullah, Hamzah Alhamzah, Reema AlDera, Danah Almohaimeed, Norah Albdaya, Turki Alaudah, Abdulmalik Alawam, and Asem Shadid. 2022. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 6 (6), 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
Chicago Style
Bukhari, Abdullah, Hamzah Alhamzah, Reema AlDera, Danah Almohaimeed, Norah Albdaya, Turki Alaudah, Abdulmalik Alawam, and Asem Shadid. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries 6 (2022), 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style
Bukhari, Abdullah, Hamzah Alhamzah, Reema AlDera, Danah Almohaimeed, Norah Albdaya, Turki Alaudah, Abdulmalik Alawam, and Asem Shadid. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study." International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries 6.6 (2022), 824-830. Print. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
APA (American Psychological Association) Style
Bukhari, A., Alhamzah, . H., AlDera, . R., Almohaimeed, . D., Albdaya, . N., Alaudah, . T., Alawam, . A. & Shadid, . A. (2022) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education and specialty choices among clinical year students in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study. International Journal of Medicine in Developing Countries, 6 (6), 824-830. doi:10.24911/IJMDC.51-1646807614
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