Institute of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Wallenberg Laboratory and Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, 41345, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Region Vaestra Goetaland, Department of Clinical Physiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 41345, Gothenburg, Sweden.
BMC Med Educ. 2021 May 22;21(1):294. doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02727-3.
It remains unclear to what extent the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the normal progression of biomedical and medical science graduate programs and if there was a lasting impact on the quality and quantity of supervision of PhD-students. To date, multiple editorials and commentaries indicate the severity of the disruption without providing sufficient evidence with quantifiable data.
An online survey was submitted to the administrative offices of biomedical and medical PhD-programs at eight major universities in Sweden to gauge the impact of the pandemic on the students. It consisted of multiple-choice and open-ended questions where students could provide examples of positive and/or negative supervision strategies. Open answered questions were coded as either examples of positive or negative support.
PhD students were divided into two groups: those with improved or unchanged supervision during the pandemic (group 1, n = 185), versus those whose supervision worsened (group 2, n = 69). Group 1 received more help from supervisors and more frequent supervision via both online and alternative platforms (email/messages and telephone). There was no significant difference in educational-stage, gender or caretaking responsibilities between the groups.
It is important for the scientific community to learn how to provide the best possible supervision for PhD students during the pandemic. Our data suggests that more frequent supervision, and using a diverse array of meeting platforms is helpful. In addition, it is important for the students to feel that they have their supervisor's emotional support. Several students also expressed that they would benefit from an extension of their PhD programs due to delays caused by the pandemic.
目前尚不清楚 SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 大流行在何种程度上打乱了生物医学和医学科学研究生课程的正常进程，以及其对博士生指导的质量和数量是否存在持久影响。迄今为止，多篇社论和评论表明了这种中断的严重程度，但没有提供足够的证据和可量化的数据。
我们向瑞典八所主要大学的生物医学和医学博士课程的行政办公室提交了一份在线调查，以评估大流行对学生的影响。调查由多项选择题和开放式问题组成，学生可以提供积极和/或消极监督策略的例子。开放式回答问题被编码为积极或消极支持的例子。
博士生被分为两组：在大流行期间监督得到改善或没有改变的（第 1 组，n=185），与监督恶化的（第 2 组，n=69）。第 1 组从导师那里得到了更多的帮助，并且通过在线和替代平台（电子邮件/消息和电话）进行了更频繁的监督。两组之间在教育阶段、性别或照顾责任方面没有显著差异。
科学界必须了解如何在大流行期间为博士生提供最佳的监督。我们的数据表明，更频繁的监督，以及使用各种会议平台是有帮助的。此外，学生感到他们得到了导师的情感支持也很重要。一些学生还表示，由于大流行造成的延误，他们希望延长博士课程。
