From Copyright to Copyleft to CopyCovid: An opportunity for democratization of medical education

Abstract

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease of 2019) pandemic, as the modern world’s gravest health crisis, has rapidly required more health facilities and health care providers (HCPs). The education system in general and medical education, in particular, has also changed dramatically with the school closures. Teaching and learning activities are undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Academicians, HCPs, and medical students have gained new skills and experienced to manage their own learning process online. Many sources became easily reachable, open, and free. Open and democratized medicine, as we have seen during this pandemic, offers an interactive, egalitarian educational model. Governments, global organizations, and companies collaborated in order to keep all students learning and all instructors teaching. Many societies are faced with the digital divide and exclusion of learners. In this paper, we discussed the effect of COVID-19 on medical education at all levels and its’ democratization and shared our recommendations for sustaining these achievements after the pandemic.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• democratization of medical education
• open-access
• online learning