Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33154063›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2020

Perceptions of medical students towards online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national cross-sectional survey of 2721 UK medical students.

Samiullah Dost, Aleena Hossain, Mai Shehab, Aida Abdelwahed, Lana Al-Nusair

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 352 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
352citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

352 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Student Perspectives on the Efficacy of Hybrid Simulation Laboratory Teaching-Practicing Modules.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2026
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  8. Exploring the Learned Curriculum at a UK Dental School Through the Lens of Pulp Management.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2026
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292 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Samiullah Dost *Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals NHS Trust, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9088-613X
Aleena Hossain *Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London, UK aleena.hossain16@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0003-3484-3578
Mai ShehabGuy's Campus, King's College London School of Medicine, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3405-6283
Aida AbdelwahedFaculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4729-8399
Lana Al-NusairFaculty of Medicine, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4820-1584

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate perceptions of medical students on the role of online teaching in facilitating medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

designCross-sectional, online national survey.

settingResponses collected online from 4

participantsMedical students across all years from UK-registered medical schools.

main outcome measuresThe uses, experiences, perceived benefits and barriers of online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

results2721 medical students across 39 medical schools responded. Medical schools adapted to the pandemic in different ways. The changes included the development of new distance-learning platforms on which content was released, remote delivery of lectures using platforms and the use of question banks and other online active recall resources. A significant difference was found between time spent on online platforms before and during COVID-19, with 7.35% students before versus 23.56% students during the pandemic spending >15 hours per week (p<0.05). The greatest perceived benefits of online teaching platforms included their flexibility. Whereas the commonly perceived barriers to using online teaching platforms included family distraction (26.76%) and poor internet connection (21.53%).

conclusionsOnline teaching has enabled the continuation of medical education during these unprecedented times. Moving forward from this pandemic, in order to maximise the benefits of both face-to-face and online teaching and to improve the efficacy of medical education in the future, we suggest medical schools resort to teaching formats such as team-based/problem-based learning. This uses online teaching platforms allowing students to digest information in their own time but also allows students to then constructively discuss this material with peers. It has also been shown to be effective in terms of achieving learning outcomes. Beyond COVID-19, we anticipate further incorporation of online teaching methods within traditional medical education. This may accompany the observed shift in medical practice towards virtual consultations.

Indexed as

InternetSARS-CoV-2Schools, MedicalStudents, MedicalCOVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesEducation, DistanceEducation, Medical, UndergraduateFemaleHumansLearningMalePandemicsSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited Kingdomeducation & training (see medical education & training)information technologymedical education & trainingpublic healthtelemedicineworld wide web technology

Identifiers

PMID33154063
PMCPMC7646323

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.