The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Performance of Students in the Final Exam of General Medicine

Jokar, Fariba; Esmaeili, Atosa; Avizhgan, Maryam

doi:10.22038/hmed.2025.86689.1500

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on the Performance of Students in the Final Exam of General Medicine

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Fariba Jokar ¹

Atosa Esmaeili ²

Maryam Avizhgan ³

¹ Medical Education Research Center, Department of Medical Education, Isfahan University of Medical .Sciences, Isfahan,Iran

² Medical Education Research Center, Department of Medical Education, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,Iran

³ Medical Education Research Center, Department of Medical Education, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan,Iran.

10.22038/hmed.2025.86689.1500

Abstract

Introduction:The OSCE is the final step of the medical school graduate course. Considering the importance of recognizing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on clinical study, this essay aims to examine and compare the performance of medical students in OSCE before and during the pandemic.
Materials&Methods: The study was conducted in Isfahan Medical School in 2022 using the secondary data of the results from the final OSCE exams, which were carried out in Isfahan Medical School from 30 September (2022) to 17 February (2023), during the pandemic, and from August 2019 to February 2020 (before the pandemic). Data analyses were done with SPSS 16.0, and descriptive and analytical tests were set to compare the mean scores in two groups. Also, students' views on the quality of clinical training during the pandemic were investigated using a questionnaire.
Results: The mean score of the OSCE before and during the pandemic (t=1.73 and p=0.08) was not statistically significant; the mean score of surgery, anesthesiology, and pediatric stations obtained by the students who completed an internship and traineeship program during the pandemic were significantly lower than those who did before the pandemic; in addition, the frequency of scores less than 12 before and during the pandemic was 1.4% and 0 at the urology station and 0.7% and 57.1% at the pediatric one, respectively. Considering the Grade Point Average (GPA), before and during the pandemic, 0.5% and 2.9% of the students had a score of less than 12, respectively.
Conclusions: The results of this study showed that in cases of pandemic, major and minor departments that are surgical in nature are most affected. The use of simulation and virtual rounds is not enough and supplementary educational programs should be implemented for students as soon as possible.

Acknowledgments: The researchers consider it necessary to express their sincere gratitude to all members of the academic staff and experts in the field of educational assistance.

Availability of data and materials: The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of the results of this article.

Consent for publication: Not applicable.

Ethical approval and consent to participate: This article is the result of a research project entitled "Investigating the Effect of Virtual Education on Medical Students' Performance in the Clinical Competency Exam During the Covid-19 Pandemic", which has been approved by the Vice-Chancellor of Research and Technology of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences with the scientific code 240183 and the ethics code IR.ARI.MUI.REC.1401.166. The participants were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary. The participants’ data were analyzed and reported anonymously and confidentially. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding: This study was supported by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences with scientific code 240183.

Author Contributions:F. Jokar took the lead in the study design, data collection, and data processing (100%), as well as the analysis and interpretation of data (80%). A. Esmaeili contributed to the conceptualization (40%), critical review, and final editing (50%), and also collaborated on the study design. M. Avizhgan was primarily responsible for drafting the manuscript (70%) and actively participated in other phases, including conceptualization, data analysis, and manuscript editing. All authors (F. Jokar, A. Esmaeili, and M. Avizhgan) share responsibility for all aspects of the work and have approved the final version of the manuscript.

Open Access Policy: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. To view a copy of this licence, visit.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0

Keywords

OSCE Final exam Medicine Clinical training Covid

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