International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Wettasinghe I1*, Weerakkody DSI1, Elvitigala KN1, Sandakumari G.V.N.2
1Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila, Sri Lanka
2Department of Pharmacology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka
*Corresponding Author
Abstract:
Background: During the Covid Pandemic, online lectures played a crucial role in medical education. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of incorporating online teaching in medical curriculum.
Methods: Data was collected via a self-administered online questionnaire from 360 Medical Students of a selected Medical Faculty in Sri Lanka.
Results: Among our study population 63% (213/338) were females aged between 20 to 29 with a mean of 23.4 years (Standard deviation 2.09). Before the pandemic only 3.6% had used online lectures during their medical curriculum.
At the time of data collection 56% of the students had attended more than 50 online lectures. Majority (65.6%) of the study population stated that their knowledge had improved during the pandemic.
Among them, 44% had stated that they read more books during the pandemic while 24% had reduced reading during the pandemic. Majority preferred online lectures (59%) over traditional lectures and the main reasons given were the minimum time consumption for travelling (92.3%). Majority of the students (62.4%) stated that they felt less sleepy during online lectures and 60.1% stated that they retained more facts with online lectures. 83% of the participants who stated that they felt sleepy during the online lectures still wished to continue online lectures even after the Covid Pandemic and it was statistically significant. (P =0.00)
Students preferred online lectures to be more interactive and wanted a lecture note or pdf to be given prior to the lecture. Majority of the students used a smart phone and all the students zoom as their portal to online lectures.
Even though 77.2% of the study population had connection interruptions during online lectures, majority of the students (67.2%) wish to have online lectures even after the COVID-19 pandemic instead of the lectures in the hall.
Conclusion: Online lectures should be continued as a key part of the medical education even after social distancing restrictions are lifted and traditional lectures are resumed. Infrastructure should be improved to minimize connection interruptions.
I. INTRODUCTION
Online lectures have become a crucial component in Medical education due to Corona pandemic with the importance of social distancing. This experience should be used as an opportunity to create a new platform for medical education [1].