Volume 26, Issue 122, April 2022

Impact of online learning on medical and non-medical students during COVID-19 pandemic in Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia: A comparative study

Mohammed Hajraf, Khaled Saqer Almutairi, Osama Almuqaiteeb, Muhannad Alashhab, Badr Sultan, Faisal Ahmad Alrashed, Mohammed Ibrahim, Fahd Salih Aldhafeeri, Saif Hammad Alruwaili, Abdulaziz Rabea Alanazi, Abdullah Mohammed Alobaidi, Jamal M Arif, Aqeel Ahmad^♦

College of Medicine, Shaqra University, Shaqra 11961, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Shaqra University, Shaqra, 11961, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: During COVID-19, the mode of education was changed completely to online, however, in medical colleges across Saudi Arabia, the lectures were a blend of online and offline (PBL, examination, clinical skills, and labs) activities. Aims: Our aim of this study to compare the learning outcomes in both medical and non-medical students and find out the challenges, limitations, and problems faced by medical students in the online and offline blended mode of teaching. Methods: After acquiring affirmative consent, 151 medical and non-medical students from Shaqra University were randomly engaged in a cross-sectional study. A classic questionnaire was created in Google Form and a virtual assessment was done. The acquired students' data was assessed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel software. Results: Over 85% of both medical and non-medical students chose online real-time training methods. In the COVID-19 duration, more than 80% of medical (M) and non-medical (NM) students said that virtual teaching was comparatively more difficult for them to focus on than the on-site teaching. Over 50% of both M and NM students believe that the COVID-19 epidemic damaged their grades this semester/block. Surprisingly, after receiving the vaccination, more than 80% of M and NM students expressed interest in on-site instruction. Conclusions: The study clinched that the online mode of education was disliked by many students regardless of the stream and are eager for offline mode of education.

Keywords: Medical, Non-medical, COVID-19, online learning, lecture, labs, grades.

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms122e2123

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i122/ms122e2123

Published: 06 April 2022