Impact of virtual education on urology education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Auteurs-es

  • Jesse T.R. Spooner Dalhousie University Urology
  • Wyatt MacNevin Dalhousie University Department of Urology
  • John Grantmyre

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.8232

Mots-clés :

COVID-19, Urology, Education, Medical School, Virtual Education

Résumé

INTRODUCTION: The coronavirus pandemic changed the way urology education was delivered. At Dalhousie University, third-year medical students (clinical clerks) undergoing a two-week urology elective had the historic in-person seminars changed to virtual seminars with pre-recorded lectures by staff. The academic abilities of the clerks were measured via a standardized written exam and clinical score assigned by a staff preceptor. This study aimed to measure the impact of virtual education on student performance.

METHODS: Clerk clinical and exam scores have been recorded since 2014. The in-person seminar (pre-COVID) cohort included students from January 2014 to March 2020 (n=109), while the virtual seminar (post-COVID) cohort was recorded from April 2020 to August 2022 (n=60). Independent t-test was used to compare clinical, exam, and total scores between the pre-COVID student groups after ensuring normality.

RESULTS: Students in the virtual seminar group (mean ± standard deviation 88.69±6.50%) performed better than the in-person seminar student groups (86.32±6.33%) in terms of clinical performance gradings (p=0.02). There was no statistically significant difference in written exam scores between the in-person seminar and virtual seminar cohorts (77.34±10.94% vs. 78.75±11.37%, p=0.43). Cumulative scores were higher for virtual seminar student groups vs. in-person seminar cohort (86.70±5.40% vs. 84.52±5.44%, p=0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: Clinical clerks undergoing virtual education during a two-week urology elective had improved clinical and cumulative score performances when compared to the in-personal seminar cohort; virtual seminars did not statistically negatively impact exam scores.

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Bibliographies de l'auteur-e

Jesse T.R. Spooner, Dalhousie University Urology

Dalhousie Urology Resident, PGY1

 

Wyatt MacNevin, Dalhousie University Department of Urology

1st year Urology Resident at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.

John Grantmyre

Staff Urologist at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Principle Investigator

Publié-e

2023-05-30

Comment citer

Spooner, J. T., Wyatt MacNevin, & John Grantmyre. (2023). Impact of virtual education on urology education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Urological Association Journal, 17(8), 264–7. https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.8232

Numéro

Rubrique

Original Research