THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE EDUCATION OF MEDICAL STUDENTS OF FEDERAL MEDICAL COLLEGE, ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of covid-19 on the learning of medical students of Federal Medical College, Islamabad. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 215 medical students of Federal Medical College, Islamabad from October to December 2021. A pretested validated tool was used to collect primary data from medical students via random sampling. SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. The chi-square test was used to see the association between various variables. Results: This study included 54.9% (118) females and 45.1% (97) males. 188 (87.4%) students reported that they were taking online classes. Most of the students, 181 (84.2%) thought that COVID-19 affected their study durations. The pandemic has caused wastage of time was reported by 155 (72.1%) students and 60 (27.9%) stated pandemic had given them extra time to clear their concepts. More than 2/3rd of the students (78.6%) were concerned about their professional examinations due to the present situation of the pandemic. Among all the respondents, 177 (82.3%) were not satisfied with this method of learning and also 184 (85.6%) students have lost interest in their studies. Most of the students 173 (80.5%) were facing difficulty in establishing the boundary between their work and home and 180 (83.7%) were missing classroom engagement. Conclusion: Covid 19 has severely affected medical education. E-learning is not suitable for medical students as most of their learning involves practical performance and interaction with patients. Keywords: Covid-19, medical students, medical education, online learning