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. 2021 Jun;39(6):1997-2003.
doi: 10.1007/s00345-020-03417-3. Epub 2020 Aug 29.

Impact of COVID-19 on medical education: introducing homo digitalis

Stavros Gravas  1 , Mumtaz Ahmad  2 , Andrés Hernández-Porras  3 , Frederico Furriel  4 , Mario Alvarez-Maestro  5 , Anant Kumar  6 , Kyu-Sung Lee  7 , Evaristus Azodoh  8   9 , Patrick Mburugu  10 , Rafael Sanchez-Salas  11 , Damien Bolton  12 , Reynaldo Gomez  13 , Laurence Klotz  14 , Sanjay Kulkarni  15 , Simon Tanguay  16 , Sean Elliott  17 , Jean de la Rosette  18 ; Office of Education and SIU Board of Directors
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 on medical education: introducing homo digitalis

Stavros Gravas et al. World J Urol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Purpose: To determine how members of the Société Internationale d'Urologie (SIU) are continuing their education in the time of COVID-19.

Methods: A survey was disseminated amongst SIU members worldwide by email. Results were analyzed to examine the influence of age, practice region and settings on continuing medical education (CME) of the respondents.

Results: In total, 2494 respondents completed the survey. Internet searching was the most common method of CME (76%; all ps < 0.001), followed by searching journals and textbook including the online versions (62%; all ps < 0.001). Overall, 6% of the respondents reported no time/interest for CME during the pandemic. Although most urologists report using only one platform for their CME (26.6%), the majority reported using ≥ 2 platforms, with approximately 10% of the respondents using up to 5 different platforms. Urologists < 40 years old were more likely to use online literature (69%), podcasts/AV media (38%), online CME courses/webinars (40%), and social media (39%). There were regional variations in the CME modality used but no significant difference in the number of methods by region. There was no significant difference in responses between urologists in academic/public hospitals or private practice.

Conclusion: During COVID-19, urologists have used web-based learning for their CME. Internet learning and literature were the top frequently cited learning methods. Younger urologists are more likely to use all forms of digital learning methods, while older urologists prefer fewer methods.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Medical education; Online learning; Social media; Urology.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Number of methods used by urologists to continue their medical education during COVID-19
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Preferred CME methods used by urologists grouped by age during COVID-19
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Regional trends in learning methods used by urologists during COVID-19
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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