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. 2021 Jun 15;38(5):Doc93.
doi: 10.3205/zma001489. eCollection 2021.

Medical education in times of COVID-19: survey on teachers' perspectives from a German medical faculty

Anne Herrmann-Werner  1 , Rebecca Erschens  1 , Stephan Zipfel  1   2 , Teresa Loda  1
Affiliations

Medical education in times of COVID-19: survey on teachers' perspectives from a German medical faculty

Anne Herrmann-Werner et al. GMS J Med Educ. .

Abstract
in English, German

Background: Clinicians in their role as teachers and medical faculties were struggling to address the medical students' needs regarding their medical education in times of COVID-19. They were especially confronted with several challenges regarding what medical training should look like and how to transfer medical training to integrate relevant skills like interpersonal or practical competencies. This study aimed to investigate the teachers' perspectives on medical education and COVID-19 in general, including their distress level. Methods: This quantitative questionnaire study was distributed online among responsible lecturers of medical training at the Medical Faculty of Tuebingen. Teachers answered questions about the medical training, COVID-19 in general (on a seven point- Likert scale from "not at all" to "completely") and their mental well-being (STAI). Descriptive data analysis and t-tests were performed. Results: The teachers reported being significantly (p<.01) more distressed regarding the medical training (M=4.63, SD=1.24) in comparison to their private lives (M=3.58, SD=1.38) or the clinical context (M=3.33, SD=1.95). They also felt significantly less informed about the medical training in times of COVID-19 (p<.001). They wished for more support and information from their medical faculty. When teachers were asked which teaching should be implemented in future, they reported the most the online lectures (87.5%), followed by collaborative working (75.5%), live broadcast (62.5%) and online chats (58.3%). Teachers also saw the current situation of COVID-19 as a chance for a digital transformation of the medical education (M=5.92, SD=0.95). Discussion: Teachers of the Medical Faculty of Tuebingen saw online-based teaching formats as a chance to meet the medical students' needs regarding the medical education. Video-based formats like online lecturers and online chats with teachers might play a relevant role in order to impart knowledge. Furthermore, medical students should also be taught in digital formats like telehealth, including patient-physician distance interactions.

Hintergrund: Dozierende Klinikärzte/-ärztinnen und medizinische Fakultäten hatten es schwer, den medizinischen Ausbildungsbedürfnissen der Medizinstudierenden in Zeiten von COVID-19 gerecht zu werden. Insbesondere waren sie vor die Herausforderung gestellt, wie die medizinische Ausbildung unter den gegebenen Bedingungen aussehen könnte und wie sich die Vermittlung maßgeblicher zwischenmenschlicher oder praktischer Fähigkeiten integrieren ließe. Diese Studie hatte zum Ziel, die Perspektiven der Dozierenden hinsichtlich der medizinischen Ausbildung und COVID-19 im Allgemeinen zu untersuchen, einschließlich ihres eigenen Stresslevels. Methoden: Die Fragebögen dieser quantitativen Erhebung wurden den Dozierenden der Medizinischen Fakultät Tübingen online zur Verfügung gestellt. Die Dozierenden beantworteten Fragen zur medizinischen Ausbildung, zu COVID-19 im Allgemeinen (anhand einer 7-stufigen Likert-Skala von "überhaupt nicht" bis "sehr") und zu ihrem psychischen Wohlergehen (STAI). Es wurden deskriptive Datenanalysen und and t-Tests durchgeführt. Ergebnisse: Die Dozierenden gaben an, dass sie sich in ihrer medizinischen Lehrtätigkeit signifikant mehr (p<0,01) belastet fühlten (M=4,63, SD=1,24) als in ihrem Privatleben (M=3,58, SD=1,38) oder ihrer klinischen Tätigkeit (M=3,33, SD=1,95). Ferner fühlten sie sich hinsichtlich ihrer Lehraufgabe unter COVID-19-Bedingungen signifikant weniger informiert (p<0,001). Sie wünschten sich mehr Unterstützung und Informationen von ihrer medizinischen Fakultät. Auf die Frage, welche Lehrformen in Zukunft implementiert werden sollten, gaben die Dozierenden überwiegend Online-Vorlesungen an (87,5%), gefolgt von kollaborativem Arbeiten (75,5%), Live-Übertragungen (62,5%) und Online-Chats (58,3%). Die Dozierenden sahen die aktuelle Situation mit COVID-19 auch als Chance für eine digitale Transformation der medizinischen Ausbildung an (M=5,92, SD=0,95). Diskussion: Dozierende der Medizinischen Fakultät Tübingen sahen Online-Lehrformate als Chance an, um den Bedürfnissen der Medizinstudierenden in ihrer medizinischen Ausbildung gerecht zu werden. Videobasierte Formate wie Online-Vorlesungen und Online-Chats mit Dozierenden könnten bei der Wissensvermittlung eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Darüber hinaus sollten Medizinstudierende auch in digitalen Formaten wie der Telemedizin ausgebildet werden, einschließlich der Fern-Interaktion zwischen Arzt/Ärztin und Patient/-in.

Keywords: COVID-19; digitalization; medical education; mental well-being; teacher.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Table 1
Table 1. Results
Figure 1
Figure 1. Teachers expectations towards students’ behavior in online teaching settings
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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