Chinese medical students’ interest in COVID-19 pandemic

Exploring Demographic Factors Influencing Indian Nursing Students' Willingness to Volunteer

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the demographic determinants influencing nursing students' intentions to volunteer during health emergencies in India, providing insights that can inform policy and educational interventions to enhance their engagement and effectiveness in crisis situations.

METHODS

A comprehensive cross-sectional survey was conducted among final-year nursing students, utilizing an online self-administered questionnaire developed through an extensive review of existing literature. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS software tool.

RESULTS

Four hundred nursing students participated in the study. The analysis showed that age, marital status, location, family income, educational program, and district strongly influence volunteer inclinations. Although they face challenges, nursing students' desire to help during emergencies shows their dedication and importance within health care. Strategic assistance, flexible training, and recognition can increase volunteerism. Giving nursing students resources and support makes them confident, equipped, and motivated to respond to emergencies, improving community resilience and emergency health care.

CONCLUSIONS

This study enhances our understanding of demographic influences on volunteerism and informs strategies to foster a more robust and willing nursing workforce in India for future health emergencies. Future research should focus on understanding psychological factors in other states of India.

Factors influencing nursing students' willingness to volunteer during wartime emergencies: A cross sectional study in Israel

BACKGROUND

During wartime emergencies, the Ministry of Health in Israel faces workforce shortages, prompting consideration of nursing students as auxiliary support. Understanding the factors influencing nursing students' willingness to volunteer, is essential for effective crisis preparedness.

AIM

The research seeks to identify how self-efficacy, positive attitudes, institutional support, knowledge, age, gender, prior experience, and familial obligations impact nursing students' readiness to volunteer during mass casualty events in wartime.

DESIGN

This study employed a descriptive, cross-sectional research approach.

SETTINGS

Nursing schools in Israel.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of 300 nursing students who had commenced their studies for at least one month. The study targeted nursing students across Israel, regardless of their specific school affiliation. Recruitment was conducted through various channels, including face-to-face recruitment, emails, and synchronous chat groups.

METHODS

Data were collected using a structured self-report questionnaire based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory and adapted from existing literature. Statistical analyses, included t-tests, Pearson correlation, and linear rand logistic regressions.

RESULTS

The study found high levels of intent (M = 3.33, SD = 0.83), perceived self-efficacy (M = 3.25, SD = 0.54), and positive attitudes towards volunteering during wartime (M = 3.57, SD = 0.54) among nursing students towards volunteering during wartime. Significant correlations were observed between students' willingness to volunteer during wartime and factors such as positive attitudes to volunteer during wartime (r = 0.543, p < 0.01), perceived self-efficacy (r = 0.313, p < 0.01), institutional support (r = 0.313, p < 0.01), knowledge (r = 0.138, p < 0.05), age (r = 0.179, p < 0.01), and previous volunteering experience (r = 0.158, p < 0.01). Regression analyses indicated that positive attitudes towards wartime volunteering, perceived self-efficacy, institutional support, and prior volunteering were significant predictors of the intention to volunteer.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing students in Israel demonstrate a high willingness to volunteer during wartime, influenced by factors such as perceived self-efficacy, positive attitudes towards volunteering, and institutional support. While these findings suggest potential areas for enhancing volunteerism, further research is needed to assess the effectiveness of targeted training and support interventions. Nonetheless, fostering these key factors could strengthen the healthcare system's capacity to respond to wartime emergencies.

Health profession students' outlooks on the medical profession during the COVID-19 pandemic: a global perspective

BACKGROUND

This article summarizes a global study of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on junior health professions students' outlook on medicine. The pandemic has significantly affected health professions education. There is limited understanding of how students' pandemic experiences will affect them, and what impact these events may have on their career paths or the future of the professions. This information is important as it impacts the future of medicine.

METHODS

In the Fall 2020 semester, 219 health professions students at 14 medical universities worldwide responded to the question: 'Has this experience (with COVID-19) changed your outlook on medicine as a profession?'. Short essay responses were semantically coded and organized into themes and subthemes using an inductive approach to thematic analysis.

RESULTS

145 responses were submitted. Themes were identified: (1) students reflected on the interaction between politics and healthcare; (2) reported becoming more aware of the societal expectations placed on healthcare professionals, including undertaking high risks and the sacrifices that healthcare professionals must make; (3) found reassurance from the recognized importance of healthcare professionals and expressed pride to be entering the profession; and (4) reflected on the current state of healthcare, including its limitations and future.

CONCLUSION

Most students, independent of the extent of the pandemic in their respective countries, noted a change in their outlook regarding medicine. An overall positive outlook was noted in most junior students. Educators need to work on nurturing these sentiments and attitudes to help young students maintain a healthy relationship towards their chosen profession.

Assessment of Final Year Nursing Students' Willingness and Readiness to Work With Patients With COVID-19 During the Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Introduction

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia faced shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers. With a limited supply of healthcare workers, we examined the possibility of bringing final-year nursing students into COVID-19 patient care.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey among final-year nursing students to assess their willingness and readiness to work with patients with COVID-19 in Indonesia. We recruited 1,028 final-year nursing students in East Java, Indonesia, during October 7-20, 2021. Data were collected using an online questionnaire designed for this study using Google Forms. Response data were extracted from Google Forms to MS Excel 2016 for analysis. We performed univariate analysis for descriptive statistics, followed by multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression to analyze the effect of independent variables on study outcomes.

Results

The characteristics of the study participants showed that most respondents were female (97.1%) and of Javanese ethnicity (75.3%). More than 90% of participants reported no chronic diseases (96.2%) and were vaccinated (81.4%). Most participants were willing to work (84.3%) and ready to work (94.4%) with patients with COVID-19. Adjusted analysis showed that sex, type of institution, ethnicity, household condition, and history of chronic diseases were independent determinants of willingness to work with patients with COVID-19. Male and private university students were significantly more willing to work with patients with COVID-19.

Conclusions

Nursing students were willing to work with patients with COVID-19 during the pandemic; however, a longitudinal study is recommended for trend analysis.

Student engagement in voluntary service in response to COVID-19 in Guangzhou, China: Implications for disease control and public health education from a cross-sectional study

Public health students have been seen as a potential force to meet the demand for health workers during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, few studies have provided empirical data. This study was conducted to summarize the experiences of public health students who engaged in voluntary service in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Guangzhou, China. A cross-sectional study was conducted among postgraduate and undergraduate students at the School of Public Health, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, in August 2021. A self-designed online questionnaire was used to collect data on the experience of voluntary service during the early stage of the outbreak (in February 2020) and during the normalization stage of the prevention and control of COVID-19 (in June 2021) in China. Among the 96 students, 40 (41.7%) participated in voluntary service in February 2020, and 56 (58.3%) participated in voluntary service in June 2021. Most of the students participated in the voluntary service due to the motivations to help others (55.2%), to apply theoretical knowledge to practice (74.0%), to improve their fieldwork skills (72.9%), and to gain the experience for future careers (80.2%). Most volunteers were driven by professional responsibility (81.3%). More than half (53.1%) of the students felt anxious during their voluntary service. A lower proportion of students felt anxious in June 2021 than in February 2020 (44.6% vs 65.0%, P = .049), while a higher proportion of students found voluntary service harder than expected in June 2021 than in February 2020 (33.9% vs 7.5%, P = .002). Most students improved their knowledge and skills about COVID-19 after the training, but some knowledge and skills still needed improvement after their voluntary service. Public health students could help support the health system during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing adequate training and protection. More efforts should be made to provide psychological support for student volunteers and to optimize the curriculum to bridge the gap in public health education between theoretical knowledge and practical skills in responding to public health emergencies.

Beyond COVID-19: the impact of recent pandemics on medical students and their education: a scoping review

INTRODUCTION

Over the past two years, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has greatly altered medical student education as well as daily life. Medical schools across the world were disrupted and had to immediately adapt the educational experience to the online environment in order to continue the delivery of quality medical education. However, COVID-19 was not the only recent pandemic. This posed the question, were similar disruptions and adaptations also seen in recent past pandemics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) that could have prepared medical educators for COVID-19? This scoping review investigated the educational and personal impact of recent pandemics on medical students.

METHODS

This review followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines for scoping reviews. Nine databases including PubMed, ERIC, and EMBASE were systematically searched using keywords and subject headings related to medical students and SARS, H1N1, MERS, Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19. Studies were limited to research studies published between 2000 and 2020 and in English. Based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, all studies were independently screened by two reviewers first by the title/abstract and then via full text. Data were extracted from the included studies and analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 174 studies fit the criteria. Seven major themes emerged from those studies: educational adaptations and online modifications, knowledge and attitudes of students, mental wellness of students, student involvement and use of telehealth, student vaccination, physical wellness of students, and stigma.

CONCLUSION

This review provided insights into how medical students were affected by recent pandemics and their perceptions of pivoting to online education, mental health, and knowledge of the diseases. Additionally, this review showcases the various educational adaptations that emerged uniquely during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as telehealth services or video conferencing tools, that can be utilized in a post-pandemic environment.

Examining medical student volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic as a prosocial behaviour during an emergency

PURPOSE

Understanding the factors that influence prosocial behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic is essential due to the disruption to healthcare provision.

METHODS

We conducted an in-depth, mixed-methods cross-sectional survey, from 2 May 2020 to 15 June 2020, of medical students at medical schools in the United Kingdom. Data analysis was informed by Latané and Darley's theory of prosocial behaviour during an emergency.

RESULTS

A total of 1145 medical students from 36 medical schools responded. Although 947 (82.7%) of students were willing to volunteer, only 391 (34.3%) had volunteered. Of the students, 92.7% understood they may be asked to volunteer; however, we found deciding one's responsibility to volunteer was mitigated by a complex interaction between the interests of others and self-interest. Further, concerns revolving around professional role boundaries influenced students' decisions over whether they had the required skills and knowledge.

CONCLUSION

We propose two additional domains to Latané and Darley's theory that medical students consider before making their final decision to volunteer: 'logistics' and 'safety'. We highlight modifiable barriers to prosocial behaviour and provide suggestions regarding how the conceptual framework can be operationalized within educational strategies to address these barriers. Optimizing the process of volunteering can aid healthcare provision and may facilitate a safer volunteering process. Key messages  What is already known on this topic: There is a discrepancy between the number of students willing to volunteer during pandemics and disasters, and those who actually volunteer. Understanding the factors that influence prosocial behaviour during the current COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics and disasters is essential. What this study adds: We expanded on Latané and Darley's theory of prosocial behaviour in an emergency and used this to conceptualize students' motivations to volunteer, highlighting a number of modifiable barriers to prosocial behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. How this study might affect research, practice, or policy: We provide suggestions regarding how the conceptual framework can be operationalized to support prosocial behaviours during emergencies for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and future crises.

Perceptions of volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic among medical and dental professionals in Saudi Arabia

Background

Volunteering can be defined as any action where time is freely donated to help another individual, organization, or cause. During pandemics, volunteers in the healthcare industry are essential. There were different perspectives on volunteering around the world. This study evaluated Saudi Arabia's clinical medical and dentistry students' attitudes and perspectives on volunteering during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Method

A descriptive cross-sectional study of medical and dental students completing the clinical experience in Saudi Arabia. A web-based survey gathered data, and SPSS, Chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests were used for analysis.

Results

The majority of participants had positive attitudes and perceptions of volunteering during COVID-19 on most items. A total of 93.80% said they would volunteer given the opportunity, and 86.25% would respond to governmental calls during health crises. However, 62.26% would volunteer only if compensated, 66.58% needed parental approval before volunteering, and 74.93% had fears about infecting family members. Nearly all items were not significantly different by specialty (medicine/dentistry), gender, nationality, region, or education level.

Conclusions

Medical and dentistry professionals had good attitudes about volunteering during health disasters, especially when provided proper protection and training. The majority of participants were likely to respond to governmental calls if needed. Future studies should investigate compensation methods and types.

The relationship between the sources of confidence in overcoming COVID-19 and the improvement of medical students' professional identity: mediation by medical students' attention to COVID-19

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of COVID-19 highlights the shortage of human medical resources, and improving medical students' professional identity is crucial to improving this situation. The sources of confidence in overcoming COVID-19 and medical students' attention to COVID-19 were significant factors affecting their professional identity. However, no study has investigated the mediating role of medical students' attention to COVID-19 in their relationship. This study investigates the relationship between these three factors in three medical university students in Hunan Province.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey study that used convenience sampling method was conducted on 2775 medical students from three universities in the Hunan Province of China from March 15 to April 19, 2020. An intermediary model was established to evaluate the role of medical students' attention to COVID-19 in the sources of confidence in overcoming COVID-19 and the improvement of medical students' professional identity.

RESULTS

The sources of confidence in overcoming COVID-19, medical students' attention to national crisis events, and the improvement of medical students' professional identity was positively associated with each other (β = 0.328 ~ 0.464, P < 0.001). The mediating effect accounted for 23.3% of the total effect and 30.4% of the direct effect. Medical students' attention to COVID-19 partially mediates the relationship between the sources of confidence to overcome COVID-19 and the improvement of medical students' professional identity.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found that the sources of confidence in overcoming COVID-19 and medical students' attention to national crisis events have a significant predictive effect on the improvement of medical students' professional identity. Medical students' attention to COVID-19 mediated the relationship between the sources of confidence to overcome COVID-19 and the improvement of medical students' professional identity. The findings have emphasized the theoretical and practical significance of professional identity education for medical students.

Health professional student's volunteering activities during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic literature review

BACKGROUND

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has forced health and education services to use additional human resources, such as health professional students. Students in the health professions, particularly those in the medical field, can participate in a variety of voluntary activities, both directly and indirectly in health services. The aim of this review was to determine the affecting factors, types of activity, and benefits of undertaking a volunteering role by the health professional student.

METHODS

A systematic review of health professional student volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted using seven databases: Epistemonikos, ProQuest, Scopus, EBSCOhost, JSTOR, Cochrane Library, and PubMed. This literature search included published articles from March 2020 through to December 2021 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines.

RESULT

We included 41 studies that met the selection criteria that assessed the factors and specific programs related to health profession students' volunteering involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic era. The most frequently observed supporting factor of the eagerness to be a volunteer was the feeling of moral responsibility (such as social dedication, sense of duty, and care), potential learning opportunities, personal interest, and financial compensation. Factors that contributed to a person's refusal to participate in a volunteer position were the fear of COVID-19 itself (such as transmission, risk of being infected, and personal identification as a risk group).

CONCLUSION

The review of available literature has shown that understanding the motivation and barriers to the willingness of health professional students to volunteer and the impact of volunteering activities on their future lives is a key for supporting them.

Détresse et résilience des étudiants en médecine de Paris Saclay lors de la première vague de la pandémie de COVID-19

Les étudiants en médecine sont exposés à des risques psychosociaux responsables d’un plus haut niveau d’anxiété, de dépression, de syndrome d’épuisement professionnel que la population française de même âge. Lors de la première vague de la pandémie COVID-19 en France, un certain nombre d’entre eux se sont mobilisés pour venir en aide aux hôpitaux débordés. Au travers de cette expérience, ils ont rapporté une détresse psychologique modérée, laquelle était nuancée par différentes capacités de résilience. Cette étude explore les ressources et les difficultés d’étudiants en médecine de l’université Paris-Saclay (France) engagés lors de la première vague dans les services hospitaliers. Si l’exposition à la mort et les conditions de soins dégradés ont pu impacter leurs motivations à étudier, l’expérience a également permis à certains d’entre eux d’acquérir des compétences complémentaires, de participer à l’effort collectif, d’éviter le confinement généralisé et d’aider les autres soignants. La prise en compte de ces facteurs de résilience au regard des difficultés rencontrées (exacerbées par la crise sanitaire, mais qui existaient déjà avant cette dernière) permet de nourrir la réflexion sur l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des étudiants en médecine dans le système universitaire médical français.

Factors influencing medical and nursing students' willingness to care for COVID-19 patients in South Korea: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the stability and adequacy of the global healthcare system. In this situation, authorities have considered engaging medical and nursing students to address the shortage of frontline healthcare workers. This study investigated the effect of COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors on medical and nursing students' willingness to care for COVID-19 patients.

METHODS

Medical and nursing students from universities in two regions of South Korea participated in this cross-sectional study. A total of 330 questionnaires were distributed; of them, 99.3% were collected, and 315 questionnaires were analyzed. Data were collected on participants' general characteristics, COVID-19-related knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors, and willingness to care for COVID-19 patients.

RESULTS

In total, 66.3% of the participants were willing to care for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in higher grades and those with more clinical practice experience showed higher levels of willingness to care. Specifically, willingness to care was correlated with the senior year (OR = 3.58, 95% CI = 1.24 - 10.37, p = .019), a high level of COVID-19-related knowledge (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 1.00 - 1.05, p = .041), an optimistic attitude that COVID-19 can be overcome (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.24 - 2.14, p < .001), and increased engagement in infection prevention behaviors (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.16 - 1.71, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicated that a high level of knowledge regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, having an optimistic attitude, and engaging in preventive behaviors affected students' willingness to care for COVID-19 patients. Integrating disaster preparedness courses in the early years of their curriculum could increase future healthcare providers' willingness to care for patients.

Willingness of Healthcare Students in Vietnam to Volunteer During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Healthcare students play an important role in volunteering activity, often addressing staff shortages. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the willingness of students to volunteer in contribution to the pandemic response, especially in Vietnam, has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of and factors associated with the willingness of healthcare students to volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. For this, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted, between June 7th and July 6th, 2021, among healthcare students from 10 fields of study at the largest public university of medicine and pharmacy in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Of 2032 respondents, 1473 (72.5%) reported that they would be willing to volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half of the students reported having a desire to volunteer in non-patient contact activities such as data entry (65.9%) and logistics (57.7%). Whereas less than 50% of the participants were willing to volunteer with activities involving patients. Year of education, study field, educational format, living arrangements, health status self-perception, chronic illness possession, COVID-19 fear level, past volunteering experience in non-healthcare sectors, and COVID-19 prevention and control training course attendance were all associated with a willingness to volunteer. The strongest barriers preventing volunteering included fear for the health of their family and lack of training/knowledge. Conclusively, healthcare students reported a high level of willingness, indicating a positive attitude toward responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adequate training should be employed to increase the willingness among healthcare students in Vietnam.

Medical Student Perspectives on Their Role as Emerging Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a large strain on the US medical system, with shortage of medical personnel being a key issue. The role of medical school students during a pandemic is not well established. Understanding the perspectives of medical students with regard to their role is essential in determining how to facilitate the use of their skills in combating the pandemic. To evaluate medical student perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic, an anonymous online survey was distributed to medical students, primarily in the Northeastern United States. In the sample of 232 students, there were significant differences between students in different class years when assessing moral obligations to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.002). A higher percentage of first and second year medical students (pre-clinical training, around 48%) felt that healthcare students are morally obligated to assist as compared to third and fourth year students (clinical training, 30.43% of third years and 23.19% of fourth years). In all class years, the majority said they would regret their decision if they had chosen not to study medicine (62.32% to 79.31%) and most students did not feel their motivation to become a physician had been decreased (84.78% to 87.50%). Though the study was limited because the majority of subjects were from New York, the results provide insight into medical students' attitudes about the COVID-19 pandemic and can be used in the planning of how best to utilize medical students in this and in future situations.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-021-01374-z.

Willingness of Nepalese medical and nursing students to volunteer during COVID-19 pandemic: A single-centered cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Medical students, being more familiar with medical situations, can play a vital role as volunteers during medical crises like mass casualty emergencies and epidemics. This study was conducted to know the willingness of medical and nursing students to volunteer during the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical and nursing students of a medical college in Kathmandu. A proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used. A pretested, self-administered questionnaire was emailed to participants and the data were collected from 8th July to July 29, 2021 via the Google forms, extracted to the Google sheets, and then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16.

RESULTS

Out of 288 randomly selected participants, a total of 261 valid responses were obtained, giving a response rate of 90.6%. The majority (n = 203, 77.8%) of the participants were willing to volunteer. The most preferred area of work during volunteering was clinical care of the COVID-19 patients (n = 74, 36.5%), followed by involvement in health education and awareness-raising activities (n = 63, 31%). Among those not willing to volunteer (n = 58, 22.2%), the most commonly reported reason was the lack of adequate training and skills (n = 23, 40%).

CONCLUSION

Since the majority of medical and nursing students were willing to volunteer during the times of COVID-19, they can be of great help as a human resource in case of shortage of healthcare professionals. As lack of training and adequate skills was the main reason for those not willing to volunteer, we recommend the provision of adequate training and skills before deploying students as volunteers during health crises like COVID-19.

Psychological distress among healthcare providers during COVID-19 in Asia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating effect on the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare providers (HCPs) globally. This review is aimed at determining the prevalence of depression, anxiety, stress, fear, burnout and resilience and its associated factors among HCPs in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We performed literature search using 4 databases from Medline, Cinahl, PubMed and Scopus from inception up to March 15, 2021 and selected relevant cross-sectional studies. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plot. Random effects model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence while risk factors were reported in odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI.

RESULTS

We included 148 studies with 159,194 HCPs and the pooled prevalence for depression was 37.5% (95%CI: 33.8-41.3), anxiety 39.7(95%CI: 34.3-45.1), stress 36.4% (95%CI: 23.2-49.7), fear 71.3% (95%CI: 54.6-88.0), burnout 68.3% (95%CI: 54.0-82.5), and low resilience was 16.1% (95%CI: 12.8-19.4), respectively. The heterogeneity was high (I2>99.4%). Meta-analysis reported that both females (OR = 1.48; 95% CI = 1.30-1.68) and nurses (OR = 1.21; 95%CI = 1.02-1.45) were at increased risk of having depression and anxiety [(Female: OR = 1.66; 95% CI = 1.49-1.85), (Nurse: OR = 1.36; 95%CI = 1.16-1.58)]. Females were at increased risk of getting stress (OR = 1.59; 95%CI = 1.28-1.97).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, one third of HCPs suffered from depression, anxiety and stress and more than two third of HCPs suffered from fear and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia.

A Cross-Sectional Study to Assess Knowledge of COVID-19 among Undergraduate Students in North-Central Ecuador

Adherence to preventive measures is influenced by people’s knowledge, attitudes and practices towards a disease; therefore, assessing knowledge of COVID-19 is critical in the overall effort to contain the outbreak. This cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduates (n = 3621) of different programs and different levels of education associated with universities in north-central Ecuador. The form consisted of 32 questions covering demographics, symptoms, detection, treatment, transmission, prevention and knowledge of the virus. The rate of correct answers was 75.5% (21.1 ± 5 out of 28), with differences observed regarding program of study, educational level and location of institution (α = 0.05), although effect size analyses showed that these differences could not be considered large. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that lower scores were associated with initial stages of education, careers related to social sciences and location of institution. Participants possessed sufficient knowledge about detection, transmission and prevention, although they overestimated fatality rate and were less confident about the characteristics of the virus and the effectiveness of traditional medicine. Consequently, future educational programs must place emphasis on addressing deficient knowledge. Certainly, improving COVID-19 literacy will promote the appropriate application of protective measures aimed at preventing the virus’ spread.

Value-Added Roles of Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assessment of Medical Students' Perceptions and Willingness in Sri Lanka

Purpose

Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an opportune time to introduce the value-added roles of medical students, this study assessed medical students’ perceptions and willingness to assist in COVID-19 health sector preparedness and response via value-added roles in Sri Lanka.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among all medical students studying in six batches of the Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, in June 2020. A Google form in English with 10 statements about individual perceptions of medical students’ roles and their willingness to assist in the COVID-19 health sector response via value-added roles was used to collect data. The responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale. The chi-squared test for independence was used to explore the associations between the academic year and the responses to each statement.

Results

Out of 856 (response rate 79.6%) study participants, the majority were females (n=601, 70.2%). The majority (n=804, 93.9%) reported that they have a responsibility to contribute to the country’s COVID-19 health sector response. There was a statistically significant association between medical students’ perceived level of clinical knowledge, having the clinical skills to assist in the COVID-19 health sector response and academic year (p<0.001). The commonly identified value-added roles were developing (n=770, 89.9%) and disseminating (n=744, 86.9%) health education messages, and field contact tracing activities (n=653, 76.3%). Other value-added roles were assisting the curative health sector in COVID-19 patient management (n=380, 44.4%) and other non-COVID-19 patient management (n=463, 54.1%).

Conclusion

Medical students are mostly willing to engage in preventive health sector value-added roles and, to a lesser extent, in curative health sector value-added roles during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, medical educators need to clearly define the value-added roles and provide adequate training and supervision for medical students across academic years to enable them to combine learning with making meaningful contributions to the health-care system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Variations in Medical Students' Educational Preferences, Attitudes and Volunteerism during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic

Public health crises require individuals, often volunteers, to help minimize disasters. The COVID-19 pandemic required such activation of individuals, but little is known about medical students' preferences of such engagement. We investigated potential variations in medical students' educational preferences, attitudes, and volunteerism during the COVID-19 pandemic based on socio-demographics to better prepare for future activation scenarios. A web-based, anonymous survey of U.S. medical students at a single institution was conducted in May 2020. Across four training year, 518 (68% response rate) students completed the survey. During the pandemic, 42.3% (n = 215) wanted to discontinue in-person clinical experiences, 32.3% (n = 164) wanted to continue, and 25.4% (n = 129) were neutral. There was no gender effect for engagement in volunteer activities or preference to engage in clinical activities during the pandemic. However, second-year (n = 59, 11.6%) and third-year students (n = 58, 11.4%) wanted to continue in-person clinical experiences at a greater proportion than expected, while a small proportion of fourth-year students (n = 17, 3.3%) wanted to continue, χ²(6) = 43.48, p < .001, φ = 0.29. Majority of respondents (n = 287, 55.5%) volunteered in clinical and non-clinical settings. A lower proportion of fourth-year (n = 12, 2.3%) and first-year students (n = 50, 9.7%) volunteered than expected. Likelihood to volunteer during a pandemic varied by gender, training year, and/or prior experience with disaster event depending on the type of volunteer-site setting. Our findings suggest socio-demographic factors may impact medical student engagement and volunteerism during a public health crisis. Educational leadership should be sensitive to such variations and can facilitate volunteer activities that allow student engagement during future pandemics.

Qualitative exploration of medical student experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic: implications for medical education

BACKGROUND

During the Covid-19 pandemic medical students were offered paid roles as medical student healthcare assistants. Anecdotal reports suggested that students found this experience rich for learning. Previous studies have explored alternative models of student service, however this defined medical student support role is novel.

METHODS

Individual semi-structured interviews were recorded with 20 medical students at a UK medical school exploring their experiences of placement learning and experiences of working as healthcare assistants. Responses were analysed qualitatively using a framework approach. The framework was developed into a model describing key findings and their relationships.

RESULTS

Interviews yielded data that broadly covered aspects of (1) Medical students' experiences of clinical placement learning (2) Medical students' experiences of working as medical student healthcare assistants (3) Learning resulting from working as a healthcare assistant (4) Hierarchies and professional barriers in the clinical environment (5) Influences on professional identity. Participants described barriers and facilitators of clinical learning and how assuming a healthcare assistant role impacted on learning and socialisation within the multidisciplinary team. Students became increasingly socialised within the healthcare team, contributing directly to patient care; the resulting social capital opened new opportunities for learning, team working and enhanced students' interprofessional identity. Students described the impact of these experiences on their aspirations for their future practice.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes to work patterns in healthcare and delivery models of medical education have eroded opportunities for students to contribute to healthcare delivery and be embedded within a team. This is impacting negatively on student learning and socialisation and we suggest that medical curricula have much to learn from nursing and allied health professional training. Longitudinal embedment with a multidisciplinary team, where students have a defined role and work directly with patients may not only add value to clinical service, but also overcome current barriers to effective placement learning and interprofessional identity formation for medical students.

Changes in Nursing Students' Career Choices Following the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Background: Health professionals including nurses have experienced heavy workload and great physical and mental health challenges during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, which may affect nursing students' career choices. This study examined the changes in nursing students' career choices after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Methods: This study was conducted in five University nursing schools in China between September 14, 2020 and October 7, 2020. Career choices before and after the COVID-19 pandemic were collected and analyzed. Results: In total, 1,070 nursing students participated in the study. The reported choice of nursing as future career increased from 50.9% [95% confidence interval (CI): 47.9-53.9%] before the COVID-19 pandemic to 62.7% (95%CI: 59.8-65.6%) after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic. Students who chose nursing as their future career following the COVID-19 outbreak had less severe depression and anxiety compared to those who did not choose nursing, but the associations of depression and anxiety with career choice disappeared in multivariable analyses. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender [odds ratio (OR) = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.50-0.91], rural residence (OR = 1.53, 95%CI: 1.17-2.00), fourth year students (OR = 0.50, 95%CI: 0.35-0.72), negative experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic (OR = 0.66, 95%CI: 0.47-0.92), and good health (OR = 4.6, 95%CI: 1.78-11.87) were significantly associated with the choice of nursing as future career after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic appeared to have a positive influence on the career choice of nursing among Chinese nursing students.