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. 2020 Jun 29;20(1):206.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02117-1.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on final year medical students in the United Kingdom: a national survey

Byung Choi  1   2 , Lavandan Jegatheeswaran  1   2 , Amal Minocha  1   2 , Michel Alhilani  1   2 , Maria Nakhoul  3   4 , Ernest Mutengesa  5   6
Affiliations

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on final year medical students in the United Kingdom: a national survey

Byung Choi et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) global pandemic has resulted in unprecedented public health measures. This has impacted the UK education sector with many universities halting campus-based teaching and examinations. The aim of this study is to identify the impact of COVID-19 on final year medical students' examinations and placements in the United Kingdom (UK) and how it might impact their confidence and preparedness going into their first year of foundation training.

Methods: A 10-item online survey was distributed to final year medical students across 33 UK medical schools. The survey was designed by combining dichotomous, multiple choice and likert response scale questions. Participants were asked about the effect that the COVID-19 global pandemic had on final year medical written exams, electives, assistantships and objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs). The survey also explored the student's confidence and preparedness going into their first year of training under these new unprecedented circumstances.

Results: Four hundred forty students from 32 UK medical schools responded. 38.4% (n = 169) of respondents had their final OSCEs cancelled while 43.0% (n = 189) had already completed their final OSCEs before restrictions. 43.0% (n = 189) of assistantship placements were postponed while 77.3% (n = 340) had electives cancelled. The impact of COVID-19 on OSCEs, written examinations and student assistantships significantly affected students' preparedness (respectively p = 0.025, 0.008, 0.0005). In contrast, when measuring confidence, only changes to student assistantships had a significant effect (p = 0.0005). The majority of students feel that measures taken during this pandemic to amend their curricula was necessary. Respondents also agree that assisting in hospitals during the outbreak would be a valuable learning opportunity.

Conclusions: The impact on medical student education has been significant, particularly affecting the transition from student to doctor. This study showed the disruptions to student assistantships had the biggest effect on students' confidence and preparedness. For those willing to assist in hospitals to join the front-line workforce, it is crucial to maintain their wellbeing with safeguards such as proper inductions, support and supervision.

Keywords: Assistantship; COVID-19; Medical education; Students.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
List of respondents per medical schools. Figure shows the list of the 32 UK medical schools with final year medical students participating in our survey. The number of respondents (n = 440) per medical school is superimposed over the number of graduates per medical school based on 2019 data from the UK foundation programme
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pie-charts showing the impact of COVID-19 on medical school OSCEs (a), written exams (b), assistantships (c) and electives (d). For (a-d), n = 440
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Stacked bar chart of Likert questions. The figure shows 4 bar charts describing how final year medical students answered the Likert scale questions in the survey. The 4 questions assessed in descending order: whether assisting in hospitals earlier than expected supplemented final year medical students’ learning; whether students would be confident in assisting in hospitals earlier than expected; whether students felt that the precautions taken because of COVID-19 were necessary; and whether students felt less prepared because of these changes
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Funnel Plots Showing Effect Sizes and Heterogeneity on a Medical School Level: Students Feeling Less Prepared for FY1. Funnel plot showing the percentage of final year medical students from different medical schools who felt less prepared to start FY1. University of Manchester, St George’s University of London, Imperial College London, University of Bristol, University of Leeds and The University of Warwick medical schools have results outside the 99.9% confidence limits of the overall mean and this may be regarded and significantly different from the global results
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Funnel Plots Showing Effect Sizes and Heterogeneity on a Medical School Level: Students Feeling Confident to Assist in Hospitals Earlier. Funnel Plot showing the percentage of final year medical students from different medical schools who felt less confident to assist in hospitals earlier
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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