Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May 1:9:87.
doi: 10.15694/mep.2020.000087.1. eCollection 2020.

COVID-19: Considerations for Medical Education during a Pandemic

Andjela Arandjelovic  1 , Katarina Arandjelovic  2 , Karen Dwyer  1 , Cameron Shaw  1
Affiliations

COVID-19: Considerations for Medical Education during a Pandemic

Andjela Arandjelovic et al. MedEdPublish (2016). .

Abstract

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Clinical placement has been the cornerstone of medical training since the early foundations of the medical profession. The COVID-19 pandemic generates unprecedented challenges for the delivery of medical education, particularly in the setting of 'flatten the curve' public health initiatives to curtail transmission. As the number of cases of COVID-19 increase, hospitals are limiting medical students' attendance at ward rounds, clinics and theatre, representing a fundamental shift in clinical education from the bedside to online formats. We discuss the considerations behind these changes, review the strategies implemented during previous global infectious disease epidemics, and suggest strategies for maximising clinical education going forward.

Keywords: COVID-19; Medical education; changes to medical schools during a pandemic; medical students during COVID-19; medical students on the frontline; pandemic management education.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Australian Government Department of Health (2020) Coronavirus (COVID-19) current situation and case numbers. Available at: https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov...( Accessed: 22nd March 2020).
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2003) Cluster of severe acute respiratory syndrome cases among protected health-care workers-Toronto, Canada, April 2003. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 52(19), pp.433–436. - PubMed
    1. Craig H.(2020) Principles to support medical students’ safe and useful roles in the COVID-19 health workforce. Available at: https://medicaldeans.org.au/md/2020/03/2020-March-20_principles-for-medi...( Accessed: 25th March 2020).
    1. Elcin M., Onan A., Odabasi O., Saylam M., et al. (2016) Developing a Simulation-Based Training Program for the Prehospital Professionals and Students on the Management of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. Simul Healthc. 11(6), pp.394–403. 10.1097/sih.0000000000000198 - DOI - PubMed
    1. General Medical Council (2020) Joint statement: early provisional registration for final year medical students. Available at: https://www.gmc-uk.org/news/news-archive/early-provisional-registration-...( Accessed: 1st April 2020).