Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Jun 2022)

Perceptions of Digital Teaching During COVID-19; A National Survey of 359 Internal Medicine Trainees

  • Sivananthan A,
  • Nicholas V,
  • Kerry G,
  • Harlow C,
  • Saha P,
  • Younan HC,
  • Williams S,
  • David L,
  • Lisk C,
  • Schofield L

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 641 – 647

Abstract

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Arun Sivananthan1,2 *, Victoria Nicholas3 *, Georgina Kerry,4 Christopher Harlow,5 Pratyasha Saha,6 Helen-Cara Younan,7 Stephanie Williams,8 Lewis David,9 Clifford Lisk,10 Louise Schofield11 1Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, London, UK; 2Department of Gastroenterology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK; 3Department of Medicine, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 4Department of Gastroenterology, St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; 5Department of Cardiology, Epsom and St Heliers University Hospital, London, UK; 6Department of Rheumatology, University College London NHS Trust, London, UK; 7Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK; 8Department of Acute Medicine, Royal Free NHS Trust, London, UK; 9Department of Endocrinology, Bart’s Health NHS Trust, London, UK; 10Department of Geriatrics, Royal Free NHS Trust, London, UK; 11Department of Palliative Medicine, Royal Free NHS Trust, London, UK*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Arun Sivananthan, Institute of Global Health Innovation Imperial College London, 10th Floor QEQM Building, London, W2 1NY, UK, Tel +44 0203 3126666, Email [email protected]: The Covid-19 pandemic brought significant disruption to post-graduate medical education. Lecture-based training days were rapidly converted to webinars. This study aims to assess the perceptions of digital training in internal medical trainees.Methods: IMTs (internal medicine trainees) nationally were surveyed on their perceptions of digital training, ease of access, engagement, and interactivity via a 10-item questionnaire. A mixed-method approach using qualitative and quantitative questions was used. Likert scales were analysed using a mean result of above 3 to indicate agreement.Results: 359 trainees responded. Trainees agreed that they preferred digital training to face-to-face teaching (mean 3.68); digital training was more engaging (mean 4.25), easier to access (mean 4.49), and as effective for learning as face-to-face teaching (mean 4.69). The most reported advantages were no travel (89%) and the ability to watch later on (88%). 63% of trainees reported loss of social interaction as a disadvantage.Discussion: This survey suggests that digital teaching has a potential role in IMT training beyond the pandemic.Keywords: medical education, digital training, IMT, webinar, post-graduate training

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