Background The COVID-19 pandemic has been the source of many challenges for medical students worldwide. The authors examined short-term effects on knowledge gain as well as shifts in learning behavior and study-related emotional states.
Method The development of knowledge gain was measured comparing the outcomes of shared questions within Progress Test (PT) pairs. The authors used mixed-effect regression models and compared the absolute variations in the percentage of correct answers per subject. Three successive test pairs were analyzed in this manner: PT36-PT41 (both conducted before the pandemic), PT37-PT42 (PT37 took place before the pandemic; PT42 was conducted from April 2020 onwards) and PT38-PT43 (PT38 was administered before the pandemic; PT43 started in November 2020).
A survey including closed and open-ended questions was also carried out in January 2021 with the purpose of assessing the learning behavior and emotional state of participants. Open-ended responses were analyzed using Latent Dirichlet Allocation.
Results The most recent test of each PT-pair showed a higher mean score compared to the previous test in the same pair (PT36-PT41: 2.53 (95% CI: 1.31-3.75), PT37-PT42: 3.72 (2.57-4.88), PT38-PT43: 5.59 (4.37-6-81)). Analogously, an increase in the share of correct answers was observed for most medical disciplines, with Epidemiology showing the most remarkable upsurge.
N=2,715 students from eleven different German-speaking faculties participated in the survey. Respondents were mostly positive towards online lectures, which were perceived as clearly beneficial, allowing for more time and flexibility. On the other hand, the suspension of practical lessons and alleged communicational and organizational shortcomings were seen as the main disadvantages.
28% of the students did not perceive negative impacts on their emotional state regarding their studies, however, 20% of the surveyed students found it difficult to cope with the lack of social contacts, with an additional 8% of them claiming to feel lonely, demotivated or abandoned.
Conclusion: Overall, PT performance improved during the pandemic. Students see advantages in online lectures, but disadvantages in the cancellation of practical lectures; they miss their former social interactions and some even show signs of emotional distress.