What the COVID-19 Pandemic Taught Medical Educators in the Caribbean about Online Clinical Teaching

Abstract

The pandemic forced final year clinical students in six health-profession programs in a Caribbean University to suddenly transition from a clinical learning environment to an exclusively online environment for clinical instruction. The change in curriculum delivery allowed students to compare teaching of clinical skills using clinical and online learning environments. In June 2020, 278 students (78% response rate) completed a survey rating the online teaching experience. Students from each discipline also participated in a focus group discussion. Of the sample, 88% of students felt that the online environment was enthusiastic and stimulating but did not view it as satisfactory for skills transfer; 77% felt connected with their teachers but deprived of the social connectedness, peer support, and vicarious learning afforded by face-to-face instruction. Clinical students perceived the online environment as a convenient and beneficial platform to deliver didactic components of the clinical curriculum, thus providing downtime for students and ensuring equitable exposure of all students to all teachers. In the post-pandemic era, medical teachers should make the effort to maintain and refine online approaches, not just for use in times of emergency, but for integration into curriculum delivery strategies to improve the clinical learning environment and student satisfaction, while maintaining the hands-on method of clinical instruction.