Karia Janvi, Bansal Ishika, Parmar Swapnil
Division of Medicine, University College London, London, GBR.
Cureus. 2024 Jan 7;16(1):e51790. doi: 10.7759/cureus.51790. eCollection 2024 Jan.
COVID-19 had a significant impact on undergraduate medical education. There has been extensive analysis on the generic impact on medical education, but the individual impact on specialties, particularly ophthalmology, has not been widely researched. We explored the impact of COVID-19 on the undergraduate ophthalmology experience in the UK, characterising the effect on medical education and considered positive outcomes that could be implemented in future undergraduate curricula.
An online-cross sectional study was performed using a 13-item questionnaire in 2023, completed by 101 participants from UK medical schools. This study was conducted through University College London, England.
Statistical and qualitative analysis revealed a significant reduction in clinical exposure during the pandemic with an almost complete shift to online lecture-based teaching. This teaching style has been adapted post-pandemic, which is impacting student confidence in dealing with ophthalmic conditions and deterring them from considering ophthalmology as a career.
COVID-19 has exacerbated a pre-existing gap in training medical trainees to deal with ophthalmic presentations. With an increase in the proportion of undergraduate medical education taking place online, efforts should be made to ensure students have hands-on, clinical exposure especially in practical placements, such as ophthalmology.
新冠疫情对本科医学教育产生了重大影响。目前已有对医学教育总体影响的广泛分析，但对各专业的具体影响，尤其是眼科，尚未得到广泛研究。我们探讨了新冠疫情对英国本科眼科学习经历的影响，描述其对医学教育的作用，并思考了可在未来本科课程中实施的积极成果。
2023年，通过一份包含13个项目的问卷进行了一项在线横断面研究，来自英国医学院校的101名参与者完成了该问卷。本研究由英国伦敦大学学院开展。
统计分析和定性分析显示，疫情期间临床接触显著减少，教学几乎完全转向基于线上讲座的形式。疫情后这种教学方式仍在沿用，这影响了学生应对眼科疾病的信心，并阻碍他们将眼科作为职业选择。
新冠疫情加剧了医学实习生在应对眼科疾病方面业已存在的培训差距。随着本科医学教育在线授课比例的增加，应努力确保学生有实践机会，尤其是在眼科等实践实习中获得临床接触。
