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. 2020 Oct 14:7:2382120520965247.
doi: 10.1177/2382120520965247. eCollection 2020 Jan-Dec.

Impact of COVID-19 on Canadian Medical Education: Pre-clerkship and Clerkship Students Affected Differently

Jobanpreet Dhillon  1 , Ali Salimi  2 , Hassan ElHawary  3
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 on Canadian Medical Education: Pre-clerkship and Clerkship Students Affected Differently

Jobanpreet Dhillon et al. J Med Educ Curric Dev. .

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has altered the undergraduate learning experience for many students across Canada. Medical education is no exception; clinical programs, in-person lectures, and mandatory hands-on activities have been suspended to adhere to social distancing guidelines. As remote teaching becomes the forefront of education, medical curricula have been forced to adapt accordingly in order to fulfill the core competencies of medical training and to provide quality education to medical students. With that in mind, the COVID-19 crisis offers a unique opportunity to evaluate the current "continuity plans" in medical education as they stand. This paper provides the perspective of medical students on how medical education is changing for both pre-clerkship and clerkship students, using their experience at McGill University as an example for the Canadian medical education system. Additionally, we discuss the accommodations put forth by the undergraduate medical education (UGME) office, and reflect on the limitations and sustainable solutions in supporting quality medical education.

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; clerkship; medical education; undergraduate medical education.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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