Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the clinical performance of medical students: a retrospective study in Korea.

PURPOSE

The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic led to significant changes in clinical clerkships, including reduced ward rounds. We aimed to determine how the pandemic-induced changes in the clinical practice environment affect the clinical performance of medical students.

METHODS

We analyzed objective structured clinical examination scores of third- and fourth-year medical students from 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 across six stations by the Seoul-Gyeonggi Consortium. Clinical, communication, and ability scores were measured and analyzed using repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance.

RESULTS

The interaction between clinical practice progress and pandemic-induced changes significantly affected physical examination and medical history scores, though the differences were not substantial. Patient-physician interaction significance varied by measurement period. Clinical communication ability also showed significant differences based on the measurement period and practical experience.

CONCLUSION

During the pandemic, alternative learning methods, including self-learning, simulation/practice, and peer role-play, helped improve medical competency in areas such as history-taking and physical examination. However, these were less effective in improving patient-physician interactions or clinical communication efficacy. Alternative learning methods have limitations, and they cannot replace direct patient encounters in clinical practice.