Effect of Covid-19 on Medical Education
The sudden emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, causing the COVID-19 pandemic, has brought about a paradigm shift in the way medical education has been delivered. The highly contagious nature of the virus, as well as the need for social distancing and lockdowns, has resulted in an urgent need to implement e-learning methods, utilizing virtual classes and assessments.
To accommodate this shift, medical colleges have had to adapt distance learning techniques, utilizing interactive lecture applications and open-book examination as an assessment tool. Additionally, a variety of technological tools have been employed to enhance the learning experience. These have included videos, interactive whiteboards, virtual simulators, online chat rooms, video case vignettes, and podcasts, which have been used to supplement live lectures conducted through applications such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
The implementation of e-learning methods and technology has been critical in ensuring that students received the necessary training and experience during that challenging time. Virtual clinical experience and virtual reality technology have been particularly valuable approaches, providing students with simulated clinical scenarios and virtual patients, and allowing them to develop their clinical skills in a safe and controlled environment.
Effect of Covid-19 on Patients and Medical Care
Not only students but patients were affected as the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unprecedented challenges for patients who were unable to access their doctors. The sudden onset of the pandemic and the need for social distancing measures have led to widespread closures of medical facilities and disruptions in the delivery of healthcare services. This has left many patients struggling to access the care they need, particularly during the first three months of the pandemic.
Patients have faced many challenges like cancellation of routine appointments, inability to see their doctors for regular check-ups and screenings which have caused delays in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions. This has been particularly difficult for patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, who require regular monitoring and management.
Another challenge has been the difficulty of accessing specialty care. With many medical facilities closed or operating at reduced capacity, patients have been unable to see specialists for conditions such as cancer, mental health, and neurology. This has led to a change in the timeline of treatment and has caused significant distress for patients and their families.
Telehealth and Virtual Care
In this instance, Telehealth has been used as a solution to overcome many problems for patients and graduate medical education. So, how will graduate medical education evolve to prepare clinicians for the “new normal” of telehealth and virtual medicine?
Based on our exclusive telehealth roundtable hosted by Dr. Robert Wachter, this red paper offers insight and advice from the event's panel of prominent medical educators and telehealth experts, including Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, Shruti Chandra, MD; John D. Halamka, MD, MS; and Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP.
A valuable resource for GME program directors, coordinators, faculty, and librarians, this red paper covers:
- How the COVID-19 global pandemic impacted GME programs
- Changes in telehealth regulations
- Barriers to telehealth
- Challenges and opportunities
- Key telehealth skills for medical students and residents
- How GME leaders and institutions can adapt to an evolving clinical care environment
- The future of telehealth
Download the free red paper now and know more about telehealth here.
About McGraw Hill Interactive Learning Solutions
For over 130 years, McGraw Hill has been at the forefront of lifelong learning, delivering industry leading content on a global scale. When COVID-19 hits, McGraw Hill has been able to support faculty, students, residents, and healthcare professionals with unlimited access to indispensable resources in medical education and clinical practice. All our access platforms support distance learning with a variety of content types to fit different teaching and learning styles, and all this digital content can be accessed off-campus.
Our vision is to help unlock the potential of every learner, no matter where they are in their journey. We are proud to partner with medical teaching institutes and hospitals across the world to curate tailored digital resources for all medical specialties, helping current and future healthcare professionals to build upon their knowledge and achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients. McGraw Hill keeps up with the constantly changing demands of the medical field by providing authoritative, trusted, and continuously updated interactive learning resources from the best minds in medicine.
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