Medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic: problems and solutions

Abstract

Modern education, including medical, is currently experiencing unprecedented difficulties caused by the growing incidence of new coronavirus infection. The difficulties are primarily due to the fact that most educational institutions in Ukraine and around the world have switched to remote operation. Thus, educational organizations, and especially teachers, face an unfamiliar situation, and many do not know how to support students in these new conditions or to adhere to the curriculum and train students for coming exams. The situation is complicated by the fact that the peak incidence coincided with the end of the school year, the most difficult period for both universities and students and clinical residents. Many of them have graduated and have taken qualification exams, procedures of primary and primary-specialized accreditation. How in the current situation to continue teaching students effectively? How to help them develop new skills? How to apply the assessment and in what form? Is it possible to conduct examinations in the format of an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE)? How will medical education change after the restrictions are strengthened? These and other topical issues are covered by the authors in this review, based on the experience of foreign colleagues and their research.